HYDERABAD: Things are not going according to plan for the Telugu Desam, which has a lot of hope of coming back to power in Andhra Pradesh.
The party is facing problems of rebel candidates, internal back stabbing due to tickets given to defectors and for denying tickets to the party’s own MLAs.
Another issue the party is facing is losing Muslim votes because of its alliance with the BJP. In Andhra Pradesh, out of 175 Assembly seats, there are 85 segments with more than 10,000 Muslim voters.
The TD has given 16 Assembly tickets and six Lok Sabha tickets to the Congress sitting MLAs and MPs who have defected to the party. In addition to that, in some Assembly constituencies, the party has given tickets to the Congress leaders who joined in the last minute. For this, nine TD MLAs and six defected MLAs have been denied tickets.
Meanwhile, the TD-BJP alliance is not working as was expected by leaders of both the parties. TD president N. Chandrababu Naidu is himself facing rebel problems in his Kuppam constituency in Chittoor district as BJP leader Tulasi Natham has filed his nomination from here.
In the Rajolu Assembly segment too, a BJP leader is contesting as a rebel candidate. Interestingly, the TD chief has fielded party candidates and given B forms his party candidates in four Assembly segments that were allotted to the BJP.
TD’s MLAs Hemalatha (Satyaveedu), Abdul Ghani (Hindupur), M. Lingareddy (Proddutur), B. Durga Prasad (Gudur), T.V. Rama Rao (Kovur), Chandana Ramesh (Rajahmundry Rural), D. Balavardhana Rao (Gannavaram), Ambati Srihari Prasad (Avani Gadda) and Jaya Mangala (Kaikalur) have filed nominations.
Among these, the Kaikalur Assembly seat was allotted to the BJP but TD legislator Jaya Mangala was given a B form by the TD and he has filed his nomination.
Similarly, in Santanutalapadu and Guntakal Assembly segments, TD candidates have filed nominations though they have been allotted to the BJP.
TD’s MLAs T.V. Rama Rao (Kovur), M. Lingareddy (Proddutur) and B. Durga Prasada Rao (Gudur) have filled nominations as rebel candidates.
In Pithapuram and a few other Assembly constituencies, local TD leaders have filed nominations as rebel candidates. The BJP is contesting in 12 Assembly segments and four Lok Sabha constituencies, but in these places the cooperation of the TD leaders and cadres is doubtful as they are against the alliance.
