The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday, November 2 released its third list of 35 candidates for the Telangana Assembly elections, scheduled to be held on November 30. So far, the BJP has released 88 names, and a fourth list is likely to be out by November 6. Moreover, the party is also in talks with the Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party (JSP) for a proposed alliance, a decision on which will be finalised soon. The party’s final list will have to take into consideration seat-sharing with the JSP, a move that not all BJP leaders want.
The party surprisingly chose to also give the Amberpet ticket to former state minister and two-time MLA C Krishna Yadav, who was arrested two decades ago for his alleged involvement in a counterfeit stamp paper scam. BJP Telangana chief G Kishan Reddy won that seat twice, in 2009 and 2014. Yadav was earlier in the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), but quit before the polls and joined the BJP last month. A two-time MLA from Himayatnagar, he was previously in the Telugu Desam party (TDP) and even served as a minister between 1994 and 1999. However, his career came to an end in 2003 when he was arrested for his alleged connection in the counterfeit stamp paper racket involving scamster Abdul Karim Telgi
Interestingly, the names of senior leaders like BJP vice-president DK Aruna and ex-BJP state president K Laxman were missing. Both of them reportedly have told the party leadership that they will not contest in the polls.
In its third list, the party has given the Uppal seat to ex-MLA NVSS Prabhakar, while Deepak Reddy will contest from Jubilee Hills and will face former Indian cricket captain Mohd Azharuddin fielded by the Congress. The seat is high-profile as most of the city’s wealthy families reside in the Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills localities, which fall under the constituency. BJP’s Mekala Saranagapani will contest from the Secunderabad Assembly seat, which falls under the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat, that is currently represented by BJP state president Kishan Reddy.
Former Congress leader Marri Shashidhar Reddy who joined the BJP last year was allocated the Sanath Nagar constituency. Shashidhar is the son of the late Congress chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, Marri Channa Reddy. Candidates were announced to five SC constituencies – Pally Babu Mohan (Andhole), Ramchandra Raja Narsimha (Zahirabad), KS Ratnam (Chevella), Devani Satish Madiga (Achampet), and Ramaligeshwar Rao (Sathupalli). Ajmeera Athmaram Naik (Asifabad), Kethavath Lalu Naik (Devarakonda), and Podiam Balraju (Pinapaka) were nominated for three ST reserved constituencies.
Pally Babu Mohan is a veteran actor and comedian who entered politics in 1990. An ex-BRS MLA from Andhole, he quit BRS and joined BJP in 2018 ahead of the last Assembly elections.
The BJP’s third list featured just one woman candidate, Challa Srilatha Reddy, who was earlier associated with the BRS. She also served as the vice-chairperson of the Nereducherla municipality in Nalgonda.
The BJP was expected to field ex-Munugode MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy, who had quit the Congress and joined the BJP last year, necessitating a bye-election. Raj Gopal lost the seat, and returned to the Congress last week and also got a ticket for the Munugode seat. Similarly, ex-Peddapalli MP G Vivekanand who joined the BJP in recent times quit and went back to the Congress on Tuesday. With these two prominent leaders exiting, the BJP has not fielded candidates in both Munugode and Peddapalli constituencies yet.
The party has so far announced candidates for 88 out of 119 seats. In its first list released on October 22, the party announced candidates for 52 constituencies. In its second list, the party announced only one candidate – Mithun Reddy, who is the son of former MP AP Jithender Reddy, for the Mahabubnagar constituency.
A BJP leader told TNM that the proposed alliance with JSP may not necessarily benefit the party. “We have been asked by Delhi to take a decision on that. The final list will be out by November 6 or 7, closer to the last date for filing nominations,” he added. The partnership with the JSP is tricky, as Kalyan says he is still part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre, but has formally joined hands with the TDP in AP. In Telangana, both the BJP and JSP do not want to contest the polls with the TDP, which will not contest in the upcoming elections this month.