Fear of desertions drives BRS to hold up LS candidates’ list

Hyderabad: The BRS is not keen to make announcements of the candidates for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections and would be waiting till the Congress party declares the candidates, as the party does not want to face the embarrassment of desertion in the party after making any announcements.

The BRS party had already organised one round of Lok Sabha-wise preparatory meetings with the leaders. However, the party has not taken any decisions on the majority of the seats except for some segments. According to sources, the party will not make the announcements of the candidates ahead of time, unlike in the Assembly elections, where it did so months before the polls.

A senior leader close to BRS Chief K Chandrashekar Rao, said that the party will wait until the ruling party announces the candidates. “We are not in power now; the Congress party is in power; let them decide on the candidates, and BRS will make a decision later,” said the BRS leader. According to sources, the BRS chief was unwilling to take chances and risk the embarrassment of losing the candidates if their names were announced but were already poached by the ruling party. The BRS leader said that if a candidate is assured a ticket and he joins Congress after the announcement, it will affect the morale of the party cadre at the crucial juncture of elections. Already, Peddapally MP Venkatesh Nethakani, who claimed that he was assured a ticket by the BRS chief, left the party and joined the Congress party in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. According to sources, the sitting MP was concerned that his ticket would be given to defeated leaders in the Assembly elections. It is said that some sitting MPs were looking to change the party.

The party has already announced candidates for the Lok Sabha segments of Karimnagar, Khammam, and Chevella. The party announced B Vinod Kumar for Karimnagar, Nama Nageswara Rao for Khammam, and G Ranjith Reddy for the Chevella Lok Sabha. The BRS chief earlier assured to give Medak Lok Sabha tickets to former Narsapur, MLA Madan Reddy. However, with the changed political equations, the party is said to be reconsidering his candidature. Both the ruling and main opposition parties are engaged in mind games prior to the elections.