Following a Central Election Committee meeting in Delhi, the BJP swiftly revealed its choices for 35 candidates in the impending Telangana Assembly elections. This announcement occurred just hours after the party concluded the selection of its remaining candidates for both the Rajasthan and Telangana polls. The BJP has now officially nominated candidates for 88 out of the 119 seats in the Telangana assembly.
The candidate roster includes multiple individuals from Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Scheduled Castes (SC) communities, with one woman candidate in the mix. Challa Srilatha Reddy will be contesting against BRS’ Shanampudi Saidireddy for the Huzurnagar constituency.
The recent release of the third candidate list has further fueled speculation surrounding a potential alliance with the Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena. There have been reports indicating Jana Sena’s interest in securing seats in the Kukatpally, Serilingampally, and Khammam constituencies, and discussions on this matter are reportedly ongoing. Pawan Kalyan, currently abroad, is expected to participate in these discussions upon his return.
A senior BJP official informed PTI that certain seat nominations have not been disclosed yet due to ongoing negotiations. It is rumored that the Jana Sena could be offered around six to seven seats in districts adjacent to Andhra Pradesh.
Furthermore, two BJP Members of Parliament, G. Kishan Reddy and K. Laxman, who previously contested unsuccessfully in the Telangana Assembly elections, are not part of the candidate lineup for the November 30 polls.
In a significant political development, BRS MLA Rathod Bapu Rao and Congress leader Chalamala Krishna Reddy officially joined the BJP in Delhi on Wednesday. This momentous occasion took place in the presence of BJP President J.P. Nadda. Notably, both leaders had faced the disappointment of being denied tickets by their respective original parties for the upcoming November 30 polls. They were also joined by several other leaders from the Yellareddy constituency.
Rathod Bapu Rao, the BRS MLA from Boath, was denied a ticket by his own party, which is currently in power. On the other hand, Krishna Reddy had been aspiring for a Congress ticket in the Munugode assembly constituency, but the party ultimately chose to field former MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy.
Interestingly, Raj Gopal Reddy had recently made the switch from BJP to rejoin the Congress, marking his return to the party a year after his initial resignation had led to a by-poll in Munugode.
