CM KCR makes Opposition eat its words

Alleging that there was anti incumbency in the State, TPCC president A Revanth Reddy was for the last few months been challenging the ruling BRS to renominate a majority of sitting MLAs.

Hyderabad: By declaring a jumbo list of 115 BRS candidates contesting the ensuing Assembly elections, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has made Opposition parties, especially the Congress, eat its own words.

Alleging that there was anti incumbency in the State, TPCC president A Revanth Reddy was for the last few months been challenging the ruling BRS to renominate a majority of sitting MLAs.

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At a programme here in June this year, the TPCC president had even challenged the BRS to renominate all the 104 MLAs, if the BRS government believed that all sections of society were happy under the Chief Minister’s rule.

Making light of such statements, the Chief Minister on Monday declared a list of 115 BRS candidates contesting the ensuing elections, with just seven changes.

“Ninty five percent of the declared candidates being incumbent MLAs not only reflects Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s courage but also underscores his unwavering faith, trust, and belief in the people of Telangana” tweeted BRS Hyderabad incharge Dasoju Sravan.

Apart from infusing confidence among the BRS sitting MLAs, the move to retain all of them, has sent a strong message to the opposition camps, which are yet to make any headway with their own lists.

More importantly, the Congress is still to make a clear announcement on allotment of tickets to leaders from the BC community. The leaders from BC community have been demanding that at least two Assembly tickets from each Parliamentary constituency should be allocated to them.

To this effect, the Congress OBC MLA aspirants held a meeting at Gandhi Bhavan on Saturday. Congress leader Katti Venkat Swamy said the BC community in the State was favouring the ruling BRS and if the Congress had to win their confidence, then BC community leaders should be given prominence.

Amidst these internal disturbances, the TPCC president on Monday claimed that seeing the list of BRS candidates, it was now confirmed that Congress would come to power in the State.

The Chief Minister’s move to contest in two constituencies indicated the state of affairs in the ruling BRS, he said. To this, the BRS leaders responded saying senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, had contested from two constituencies in the past.

Sonia Gandhi had contested from Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, while Indira Gandhi too had contested from two constituencies in the past, TSREDCO Chairman Satish Reddy said and asked TPCC president to explain the rationale behind such moves.

“Rahul Gandhi had also contested from two constituencies. Did he contest from two places out of the fear of losing?” Satish Reddy asked.