Jana Sena’s MLC claim sparks unease in Telangana BJP

With Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao widely seen as the frontrunner for the Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar Graduates’ constituency in the upcoming Legislative Council elections, a request from ally Jana Sena Party (JSP) for the other graduates’ seat has triggered unease within the State BJP leadership.

“The JSP has informally sought BJP support for its nominee, Dr. G. Srinivasa Rao, in the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda Graduates’ constituency, claiming a strong following for its leader and cine actor Pawan Kalyan. But, it has been a traditional stronghold of our party in the constituency,” exclaimed a top leader, pleading anonymity.

Though the central leadership will take a final call, Telangana leaders are expected to put up a stout resistance to ensure one of their own will contest the poll. The plan is to give an opportunity to a prominent leader from the Backward Classes (BC) with the names of teachers’ union leader Biksham Goud, official spokesperson Dr. V. Venkatramana, and young leader Tutupalli Ravi doing the rounds.

According to party sources, the party received around 16 applications for the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda seat and 29 for the Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar constituency. The ‘core’ state leadership group is said to have shortlisted four candidates for each seat for central leadership to take a final decision.

The party views Mr. Ramchander Rao as its strongest candidate and is seen as a leader capable of preventing internal dissatisfaction among aspirants owing to the intense competition for the ticket. He had won the Hyderabad graduates’ constituency election in 2015, defeating the then-ruling BRS when the party was at the peak of its popularity. He later lost to Vani Devi, daughter of former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, who was fielded by the BRS.

The BJP claims to be preparing aggressively for the polls by focusing on voter enrolment. “We expect at least five lakh graduates to register as voters and are confident of putting up a strong performance,” a senior leader said. When contacted, Mr. Ramchander Rao remained non-committal. “The Central Parliamentary Board will take the final decision, most likely next month,” he said.

However, the candidate-selection process has not gone down well with some senior leaders. A party veteran criticised the manner in which the exercise was handled, arguing that if the leadership intended to field the State president, it should have communicated the decision at the outset rather than encouraging multiple aspirants to apply. “There was no effort to talk to the aspirants about their suitability either by the ‘core’ group or the central observors,” he rued. The MLC elections are scheduled to be held in March.