Hyderabad: TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrase-khar Rao will announce party candidates in adva-nce for the Lok Sabha polls like he did for the recent Assembly elections. Besides, it is expected that Mr Rao may contest from either Malkajgiri or Nalgonda.
Mr Rao may announce the candidates in January, a month ahead of the election notification which is expected in February. The general elections are likely to be held in April-May.
After he became the Chief Minister for the second time, Mr Rao told party MPs at a meeting that all of them would be renominated.
Highly placed sources said that Mr Rao was considering contesting the elections from Malkajgiri or Nalgonda Lok Sabha constituencies. In 2014, the Malkajgiri seat was won by Mr Ch Malla Reddy, then with the Telugu Desam, and Nalgonda by Mr Gutta Sukhender Reddy as a Congress candidate. Both later joined the TRS. In the Assembly elections, Mr Malla Reddy won the Medchal seat. The TRS won all Assembly segments in the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency.
Mr Sukhender Reddy was appointed chairman of the Telangana Rythu Samanvaya Samiti and reportedly assured a Cabinet berth. During the campaign for the Asse-mbly elections, Mr Rao said at a public meeting in Nalgonda that he had thought of contesting from there but the people of Gajwel had pressurised him not to leave.
If Mr Rao contests from Malkajgiri, TRS leader and close associate Palla Rajeswar Reddy may be fielded from Nalgonda. If Mr Rao chooses Nalgo-nda, former MLA M. Sudhir Reddy may be given the Malkajgiri ticket. Mr Sudhir Reddy was elected as Medchal MLA in 2014, but was not fielded this time to accommodate Mr Malla Reddy, and was promised a Lok Sabha ticket.
From Nagarkunool, Mr Rao is considering fielding former minister P. Ramulu. Mr Manda Jagannadham of the TRS had lost to the Congress’ Nandi Yellaiah from the constituency in 2014.
Mr Dande Vithal, who is close to Mr Rao and TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao, may be fielded from Secunderabad. He had lost the 2014 Assembly polls from Sanathnagar on a TRS ticket to Mr Talasani Srinivas Yadav, then with the TD.
The Chevella seat vacated by Mr Konda Viswes-war Reddy, who recently joined the Congress, may go to Legislative Council as chairman in place of Mr A. Swamy Goud. His term in the Council ends in March next.
Peddapalli TRS MP Balka Suman won from the Chennur Assembly constituency, and his seat will be given to former MP G. Vivek.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TRS had won 11 out of 17 seats and three MPs, one each from the Congress, TD and the YSRC, joined the TRS. Among the 14 MPs with the TRS, two have switched to the Assembly and one has joined the Congress. Ten of the 11 sitting MPs will be given tickets in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections and the party will field new faces in the remaining six seats.
