Opposition parties in erstwhile Adilabad struggle to finalise candidates

BJP and Congress have not zeroed in on nominees for Adilabad, Boath (ST), Nirmal, Mudhole, Khanapur (ST), Mancherial, Chennur (SC), Bellampalli (SC) Sirpur (T) and Asifabad (ST) segments so far

Adilabad: Even as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) announced its nominees to be fielded from 10 Assembly constituencies across erstwhile Adilabad, the Opposition parties are yet to finalise candidates.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have not zeroed in on nominees for Adilabad, Boath (ST), Nirmal, Mudhole, Khanapur (ST), Mancherial, Chennur (SC), Bellampalli (SC) Sirpur (T) and Asifabad (ST) segments so far. Multiple aspirants expecting tickets from each segment, internal bickering among the leaders and factionalism has made selection of candidates a tough task for the two parties.

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For instance, both BJP district president Payal Shankar and former ZP chairperson Suhasini Reddy are vying to get a ticket for the Adilabad segment. Gandrath Sujatha and K Srinivas Reddy of the Congress are competing with each other to contest from this constituency. The aspirants are leaving no stone to draw attention from the high commands of both parties.

Meanwhile, Gajender, Dr Vennala Naik, Ramulu Naik and Dr Naresh Jadhav are eyeing a Congress ticket from Boath, which has been a bastion of the BRS from 2004 to 2018. The BJP is planning to field Aleti Maheshwar Reddy from Nirmal, another stronghold of the BRS. Srihari Rao, who quit the BRS and joined the Congress recently, is likely to be in the fray from Nirmal. Forest minister A Indrakaran Reddy, the nominee of the BRS, won from this segment four times.

The Congress is struggling to find a candidate to field from Mudhole, while three aspirants of the BJP are focusing on the segment. Senior leader and former MP Ramesh Rathod and Bhukya Janu Bai are competing with each other to secure the ticket of the BJP for Khanapur Assembly constituency. BRS is going to field Bhukya Johnson Naik from this segment.

Similar stiff competition among the aspirants of the BJP and the Congress can be seen in Asifabad, Sirpur (T), Bellampalli, Mancherial and Chennur Assembly constituencies. Incidentally, nominees of BRS are stronger than their opponents in the five segments.

Dr Raja Ramesh, Ramilla Radhika, Thokala Ramesh, Gomase Srinivas, Boda Janardhan are have an eye on a Congress ticket from Chennur segment. Former MLC K Premsagar Rao, KV Prathap, Dr Neelakantheswhar Rao are in the fray for a Congress ticket from Mancherial.