The party has fielded sitting MLA Eatala Rajender from his home constituency of Huzurabad and Gajewel, where CM KCR is in the race.
By accommodating Eatala’s desire to take on KCR in Gajwel, the BJP has projected him as the party’s chief ministerial face. (Facebook)
The BJP released its first list of 52 candidates for the Telangana Assembly elections scheduled for 30 November. Other than three of its MPs, the party also named hate speech accused T Raja Singh as one of its candidates in the first list.
A meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee, chaired by BJP national president JP Nadda on 20 October finalised the list. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh among others, attended the meeting in Delhi, an official communication said on Sunday, 22 October.
Interestingly, the BJP has fielded sitting MLA Eatala Rajender from two constituencies — his home constituency of Huzurabad and Gajwel, where Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is in the fray.
Rajender, who had on more than one occasion expressed his desire to take on KCR on his home turf of Gajwel, will be facing him in this high-stakes electoral battle.
Rajender, who has several scores to settle with the BRS strongman, has been raring to challenge him and did some spade work in Gajwel for the showdown.
By accommodating Eatala’s desire to take on KCR in Gajwel, the BJP has projected him as the party’s chief ministerial face in the election.
As far as other leaders are concerned, they have been allotted tickets in their home constituencies. Party’s national general secretary and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar will seek election to the Assembly from Karimnagar where he would have to face BRS nominee and BC Welfare Minister Gangula Kamalakar.
Another MP, Soyam Bapu Rao from Adilabad, will contest from Boath (ST). Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind will seek the mandate in Kortlan in the Karimnagar district.
MLA T Raja Singh, whose suspension was revoked a few hours before the list of candidates was released, will seek reelection from Goshamahal in Hyderabad.
Interestingly, he was the lone BJP candidate who had won in the 2018 Assembly elections. The party strength in the Assembly grew to three after it won two by-elections.
Dubbaka MLA Madhavaneni Rahgunandan Rao will be contesting from Dubbaka. Raghunandan Rao, who won the Dubbaka by-election, had changed the narrative that the BJP was down and out.
The party began gaining in strength since then and Eatala, who was hounded out of the state Cabinet and the BRS for “conspiring something big” against the chief minister, later pulled off a sensational victory from Huzurabad.
The other important leaders in the fray are Arepalli Mohan (Manakonduru), T Nandeswar Goud (Patancheru) Kuna Sreesailam Goud (Quthbullapur), Ramesh Rathod (Khanapur-ST), Chintala Ramachandra Reddy (Khairatabad) and Gudur Narayan Reddy (Bhongir).
The party has fielded 12 women, who comprised 23 percent of the 52 candidates in the first list.
They are: Chandupatla Keerthi Reddy (Bhupalpalle), Rao Padma (Warangal West), Bhukya Sangeetha (Dornkal-ST), Kankanala Nivedita Reddy (Nagarjuna Sagar), Megha Rani (Charminar), Rani Rudrama Reddy (Sircilla), Bodige Shoba (Choppadani-SC), Kandula Sandhya Rani (Ramagundam), Dr Boga Sravai (Jagtial), Annapurna Aleti (Balkonda), Aruna Thara (Jukkal-SC) and Amarajula Sridevi (Bellampally-SC).
The name of BJP state president and Secunderabad MP G Kishan Reddy has been kept out as indicated by party Rajya Sabha member K Laxman on Saturday.
It was a clear giveaway that he is being readied for the Lok Sabha elections next year.
The other leaders missing from the first list are the party’s national vice-president DK Aruna, and former MPs Vijayashanthi and Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy.
Of the 119 seats, the BJP has let the Jana Sena Party contest 12 seats in a pre-poll alliance which means that the party has to announce the list of its candidates for 107 seats.
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