Hyderabad: Lobbying for tickets to contest the parliamentary elections has started in earnest in the TRS. Some want the tickets for themselves and some are lobbying on behalf of their children.
With a two-thirds majority in the state Assembly, the TRS stands a very good chance of winning a majority of parliamentary seats in the forthcoming general election.
Sources in the party disclosed that TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will probably retain the sitting MPs B. Vinod Kumar, A.P. Jitender Reddy, B. Narsaiah Goud and K. Kavitha from their respective Lok Sabha seats of Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar, Bhongir and Nizamabad.
Mr Manda Jagannadham, a former MP, lost from the Nagarkurnool Lok Sabha seat in 2014 but is keen on getting a nomination for his son Srinath. Senior leader P. Ramulu is in the running for a ticket from this constituency.
Sources said that Mr Rao is keen to win the Nagarkurnool seat after three consecutive defeats in elections since 2004.
Senior MLA Redya Naik is trying for a ticket for his daughter Kavitha Maloth, former MLA from Mahbubabad, from the Mahbubabad Lok Sabha seat. Sitting MP Sitaram Naik wants to contest again.
Mr Redya Naik is angling for a Cabinet post under the Scheduled Tribes quota, but the Chief Minister has kept him waiting until the matter of his daughter is sorted out, sources added.
Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav is lobbying for the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat for his son Sai Kiran Yadav, as the party is in search of a strong candidate from the Backward Classes communities after it was defeated in elections since 2004.
Sources revealed that Mr Malkapuram Shiva Kumar and Mr Soma Lingam Shiva Charya are trying for the Zaheerabad Lok Sabha seat along with the sitting MP B.B. Patil. All three belong to the Lingayat community which is predominant in this constituency.
MLA and former minister T. Harish Rao is being considered for the Medak seat, though sitting MP K. Prabhakar Reddy is keen to contest for a second time.
With the MPs from Malkajgiri and Peddapalli shifting to the Assembly in the recent elections, the party is looking to give tickets to fresh faces in these constituencies.
It is also in search of a candidate for the Nalgonda seat, as sitting MP Gutta Sukhender Reddy has announced that he will not be standing for the election.
