Local body polls: Turncoat MLAs face uncertainty over Congress poll tickets

With local body elections approaching, Congress faces internal tensions as defected BRS MLAs seek ticket assurances. Senior party leaders are pushing for loyalists, creating friction. Meanwhile, ministers head to Delhi over a Supreme Court petition challenging BC reservations and to finalise the Jubilee Hills bye-election candidate.

Hyderabad: With the State Election Commission announcing the schedule for the local body elections, MLAs who defected from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to the Congress and their followers now find themselves in a tight corner.

Although the defected legislators, in a bid to escape disqualification, have reaffirmed their loyalty to the BRS, they remain uncertain about fielding their supporters in the upcoming polls.

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The confusion stems from pressure being exerted by senior Congress leaders from various constituencies, urging the Telangana leadership to give preference to long-time party loyalists while selecting candidates. The turncoat MLAs, however, continue to remind the leadership of the assurances given to them earlier.

The issue was discussed at length during a meeting chaired by AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan and TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud on Saturday.

The State leadership had directed district in-charges to submit the names of potential candidates — including those who have been with the Congress for years, those who joined before the Assembly elections, and those who came on board later. Based on these recommendations, the party will finalise candidates for different posts.

Against this backdrop, the turncoat MLAs are anxious about whether the earlier promises made to them will be honoured. They also face the difficult task of pacifying their followers if their names are rejected. In several constituencies, loyal Congress leaders and defected MLAs have already clashed over issues such as protocol during government events.

Ministers fly to New Delhi

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, and Sports Minister V Srihari left for New Delhi on Sunday following the writ petition filed in the Supreme Court challenging the State government’s order extending 42 per cent reservations to BCs in local bodies.

Party sources said that apart from attending the hearing in the apex court on Monday, the ministers may also meet the party high command to discuss the candidate for the Jubilee Hills bye-election.