First List Impact: Not many happy faces in BJP Telangana

Sources say Muralidhar Rao felt insulted after he was not considered for the Malkajgiri seat, where he had been working for a long time in the hope that the party would field him from the constituency.

Hyderabad: Resentment seems to be brewing in the BJP State unit with the party leadership allocating tickets to turncoats for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in the first list. Senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh in-charge P Muralidhar Rao, who was expecting the Malkajgiri seat ticket, was reportedly very upset over the party handing over the seat to former MLA Etala Rajender.

His disappointment was visible in his late night post on X after the first list was announced. “In the last few years, my associates, colleagues, dedicated workers of the party and well wishers who tolled with me in conducting campaigns, events, and various engagements in Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency, I extend my heartfelt thanks to all of them.

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Very soon, I will Interact and communicate with you to chart future courses…,” he posted. Sources say Muralidhar Rao felt insulted after he was not considered for the Malkajgiri seat, where he had been working for a long time in the hope that the party would field him from the constituency.

In 2019 too, the party denied him a ticket. Already, local BJP leaders were unhappy that the party was not considering their candidature and instead giving preferences to leaders coming from other parties.

Now that Muralidhar Rao too looks discontented over the denial of ticket, it would be difficult for the party to win the prestigious seat.

Meanwhile, Adilabad BJP MP Soyam Bapu Rao, whose name did not figure in the first list of nine candidates, was also upset and angry with the party leadership.

He told media persons on Sunday that a few senior leaders from the State were trying to deny tickets to him. “I won the ZPTC, MPP, MLA, and MP seats on my own strength. If the party denies me a ticket, I will fight the polls on my own and win the seat. If BJP wants to win the Adilabad seat, it has to give the ticket to me,” he said.

Even the party leadership’s decision to give the Hyderabad ticket to Madhavi Latha has not gone down well with local leaders. It is learnt that Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh, senior BJP leader Uma Mahendra and P Venkatramana are not happy with the party high command’s decision to give the ticket to Madhavi Latha.

They claimed that local leaders were working hard to strengthen the party in the Old City since a long time and that the party leadership’s decision to handover the ticket to an outsider would not go down well with the party functionaries.

On Friday, BJP leaders from Zaheerabad Lok Sabha constituency had staged a protest at the party State headquarters against the party’s decision to allot the Zaheerabad ticket to former BRS MP BB Patil.

Even senior leaders DK Aruna and AP Jitender Reddy are not happy that their names did not figure in the first list