Hyderabad: BJP begins groundwork for polls

Hyderabad: The State unit of Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to field its candidates to the Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy and Mahbubnagar, and the Nalgonda-Khammam and Warangal graduate constituencies.

According to party sources, the decision was taken at a meeting held recently under the leadership of State party chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar. The party has decided to field its sitting MLC N Ramchander Rao from Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy and Mahbubnagar graduates' constituency.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior party leader said that four candidates were in the fray for the Nalgonda-Khammam and Warangal graduate constituency. The party would decide before the election notification, which is expected in the last week of October.

However, the party has already made preparation of collecting the data of graduate voters from both the constituencies. The voters' list of the Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy and Mahbubnagar graduates' constituency has been already in the final stages and going for printing. Formal meetings with the voters have already begun. The saffron party hopes that it will get the support from the voters.

"The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi has literally done nothing to address the problems related to the educated unemployed. Besides, there is a widespread discontent among the graduate voters that the State government has failed to address the issue faced by the State universities," a leader from the party said.

However, at the party meeting, it was decided not to leave anything to chance, he said, because the ruling party had not earlier fielded its candidates for the teachers and graduates' constituencies in Karimnagar and instead threw its weight behind the independent candidates.

Similarly, the ruling TRS might repeat the same in the case of Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy and Mahbubnagar graduate constituency, the BJP sources said.

The saffron party sees such a possibility following a former Osmania University academician and MLC Prof K Nageshwar, who reportedly sought the support of the ruling TRS to contest as an independent candidate from the Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy and Mahbubnagar graduates' constituency.

Names of Greater Hyderabad Mayor Dr Bonthu Rammohan and others are doing rounds as the possible TRS candidates. However, the TRS has not yet considered the request reportedly made by Prof K Nageshwar. "To our knowledge, it is very much on the ruling party's table. So, we don't want to take any chance," said a senior BJP leader.

It may be mentioned here that Prof Nageshwar is known for his left leanings. However, unlike the Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) chief Prof K Kodandaram, he maintains cordial relations with the political leaders of all shades and colours, including the Congress leaders and the Telugu Desam national president N Chandrababu Naidu.

Earlier, he was reportedly invited by TRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to contest on the party ticket when his term was about to end. However, the former OU academician had politely declined the same sensing that the ruling party might pit him against Prof Kodandaram, who had fallen from the good books of the TRS chief.

This time, Prof Nageshwar, who is aspiring to stage a comeback into the State Legislative Council, has reportedly sought the help of TRS.

Against this backdrop, the BJP has started the groundwork and wants to ensure that its voter base among the graduate voters is not divided.

Meanwhile, Prof Kodandaram who has been trying hard to take head on with the TRS chief on the floor of the legislature for the last six years- holding parleys, with graduate and teachers' union in Warangal and Khammam districts.

He reportedly got the support from Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy and seeking the support from the left parties from Nalgonda district to contest as an independent candidate from the Nalgonda-Khammam and Warangal graduates' constituency.