BJP has four aspirants for Vemulawada, drought elsewhere

Though BJP has not taken any decision on the allocation of tickets, the four aspirants have already started their activities to attract voters

Rajanna-Sircilla: The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is struggling to find candidates for all the 119 Assembly constituencies in the State, is however facing a problem of plenty in Vemulawada.

And that problem could turn out to be a headache for the party, with four leaders competing for the seat. Former Maharastra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao’s son Ch Vikas Rao, former Karimnagar Zilla Parishad chairperson Tula Uma, Erram Mahesh and BJP district president Pratapa Ramakrishna are making serious efforts for the ticket. Though the national leadership claims that the BJP is the most disciplined party, local leaders are acting according to their wishes proving the high command’s claims wrong. Besides organizing programmes separately, they are participating as separate groups even if when they take part in party functions or agitations.

---

Though the party has not taken any decision on the allocation of tickets, the four aspirants have already started their activities to attract voters. Vikas Rao appears confident given his father’s stature in the party on a national level. Hailing from Nagaram of Konaraopet mandal, Vikas Rao is working as a doctor in a private medical institute. With an eye on politics, he had organized free medical camps in rural areas of the constituency on behalf of the institute, besides distributing ambulances to hospitals and RO water plants to villages.

It may be recalled that Vidyasagar Rao, who contested from Vemulawada on a BJP ticket in the 2009 election, had lost his deposit.

Meanwhile, followers of Uma are opposing Vikas Rao. Uma, who joined the BJP along with Etala Rajender, is extensively touring the constituency since the last one year. A native of Chowlamaddi of Metpalli mandal, she worked as chairperson of the erstwhile Karimnagar Zilla Parishad. Though she tried for a BRS ticket in the 2018 polls, she failed and later joined the BJP.

The followers of both Erram Mahesh and Ramakrishna too are confident of their leaders getting the ticket. Ramakrishna, who contested in the 2018 polls from Vemulawada, had got only 6,900 votes. He had ended up much behind the Congress candidate, Adi Srinivas, and the winner that time around, Chennamaneni Ramesh of the BRS.

This time, the BRS is banking on Chalmeda Institute of Medical Sciences chairman, Chalmeda Lakshminarsimha Rao, who has already been announced as the candidate and is preparing for a grand campaign.