BJP Panel Shortlists Six Contenders for Jubilee Hills Bypolls
Alongside Dharma Rao, the committee includes former MP P. Ramulu and senior party leader Komala Anjaneyulu, who meet on Tuesday to finalise the shortlist.
Hyderabad: The BJP is set to announce its nominee for the Jubilee Hills byelection within 48 hours, confirmed M. Dharma Rao, member of the three-member committee tasked with recommending strong candidates. The panel consulted 44 leaders from the division level and above and forwarded six names to the state leadership. The list will now be sent to the national leadership for the final decision.
Alongside Dharma Rao, the committee includes former MP P. Ramulu and senior party leader Komala Anjaneyulu, who meet on Tuesday to finalise the shortlist.
Among the frontrunners are Akula Padma, a senior BJP leader from the Backward Classes community, and Keerti Reddy, who joined the party before the last Assembly elections from the general category. Lankala Deepak Reddy, also from the general, was the BJP’s previous candidate and had secured around 25,000 votes.
Veerapaneni Padma, from the influential Kamma community with a considerable vote base in Jubilee Hills, is another prominent contender. The shortlist also includes Atluri Ramakrishna from the general category and Kilari Manohar, a former corporator. The BJP is expected to nominate a woman candidate this time, following the BRS’s decision to field Maganti Sunita, wife of the late MLA Maganti Gopinath.
