Hyderabad: It now seems certain that Dr K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao will be unanimously renominated by the Congress for the Rajya Sabha, elections for which are to be held next month. The Congress high command is expected to make an official announcement of its candidates on Monday evening, a day before the filing of nomination papers comes to a close on January 28.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, in a press release on Sunday, announced that former MP and TRS secretary-general K. Kesava Rao is its nominee. Dr Kesava Rao will file his papers either on Monday or Tuesday. But TRS sources say much depends on whether the Congress is fielding candidates for three or four seats.
(There are five routine vacancies, and one caused by the resignation of Harikrishna of the Telugu Desam. Given the numbers, the Congress can win three seats and the TD, two. The last seat is up for grabs.)
“If they announce only three candidates from the Congress, in tune with their strength in the Assembly, Dr Kesava Rao will file his papers as the fourth candidate. But if the Congress fields four candidates, we will have to do a rethink,” said the source.
Next: Undecided voters give naidu, jagan the jitters
Undecided voters give naidu, jagan the jitters
N. Vamsi Srinivas | DC?
Hyderabad: The large percentage of undecided voters in Seemandhra is giving nightmares to the two main rivals in the region, the YSRC and the TD.
Various surveys, including the ones conducted by the two parties, indicate that 15-20 per cent of voters are yet to make up their minds. This raises doubts over whether or not the contentious state division will be an emotional issue and influence the voting pattern.
“At this stage we are not clear about what voters think,” a senior TD leader told this newspaper. According to sources, surveys conducted on behalf of the party indicated a 7-8 per cent edge for the YSRC in Seemandhra as of now. Yet, the TD takes comfort in the constant fall in Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s popularity, which has narrowed down the difference between the two parties to single digits over the last three months.
The TD leadership, sources said, is hoping to overtake the YSRC with the help of the BJP. Party leaders are confident that the Narendra Modi wave will tilt undecided voters in favour of the TD-BJP alliance. But once the division becomes a reality, the undecided voter could move towards the YSRC.
The YSR Congress leaders also admit that it will not be a cakewalk after the state is divided. “We won’t bank on the division issue because the people’s anger is only Congress-centric and Naidu, who hasn’t opposed division so far, has never been their target,” said a party MLA.
The leaders were of the view that efforts to blame Naidu for facilitating division with his “pro-Telangana” letter did not yield the desired results. The party leaders, contrary to their public posture, are worried about the adverse campaign launched by rival parties and a section of the media against the alleged unilateral approach of Jagan Mohan Reddy.
They also see a bad omen in the smear campaign by some ticket aspirants that the YSRC chief ditched them to accommodate rich aspirants. The worst fear of the YSRC is a scenario in which the BJP would oppose the division Bill in Parliament and join hands with the TD.
“In that case, the undecided voter may be swayed by Naidu’s ability to achieve the unimaginable,” said a member of YSRC’s highest decision making body.
