Hyderabad: The TRS and the Congress wrapped up their final lists of candidates with strategies and counter strategies that left their own leaders as well as rivals and political circles surprised. Both parties tried to get the upper hand insofar as projecting themselves as champions of the backward classes was concerned.
The TRS gave the Kodada Assembly constituency ticket to TD rebel Bollam Mallaiah Yadav who joined the party just a day ago. TPCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy’s wife Padmavathi is the Congress candidate at Kodada.
In 2014, Mr Mallaiah Yadav contesting as a TD candidate was defeated by Ms Padmavathi by a margin of 13,404 votes. In seat-sharing talks, Nalgonda TD leaders asked the leadership to stake claim to Kodada as the party had better chances there.
But the Congress retained Kodada and Mr Mallaiah Yadav decided to contest as a rebel. The TRS then persuaded Mr Mallaiah Yadav to join the party, admitted him just one day ago and nominated him for the Kodada seat at the last minute With this, the TRS tally of BC leaders in the elections reached 26.
In a counter strategy, the Congress threw a surprise by nominating BC leaders R. Krishnaiah and Kasani Gyaneshwar in its final list.
In 2014, Mr Krishnaiah had won on a TD ticket from the LB Nagar Assembly constituency. At that time, party president N. Chandrababu Naidu had announced Mr Krishnaiah as the Chief Minister candidate. This time, both the Congress and the TD had ignored him.
After the TRS announced Mr Mallaiah Yadav as the Kodada candidate, the Congress decided to field Mr Krishnaiah, who belongs to the Yadava community, from Miryalaguda. After this, within minutes of Mr Krishnaiah joining it, the Congress named him as its Miryalaguda candidate.
