Hyderabad: Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) supremo and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who has set his eyes on national politics with his proposed federal front, is learnt to be making strategic moves to ensure that TRS wins 16 of a total of 17 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections in Telangana.

Party sources said KCR believes that unless TRS wins maximum Lok Sabha seats in 2019, he will be in no position to play a key role in national politics.

In 2014, the TRS won 11 seats, Congress two seats, and one seat each went to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Telugu Desam (TD), Majlis-e-Itte-hadul Muslimeen (MIM) and YSR Congress (YSRC). However, one MP each from the Congress, the TD and the YSRC has defected to the TRS in the past three years, taking the party’s strength to 14.

In 2019, KCR is aiming for victory in all seats except Hyderabad, and wants to make five of his ministers contest the elections. Party sources said ministers T. Harish Rao, Etela Rajender, Tummala Nageshwar Rao, Kadiam Srihari, Talasani Srinivas Yadav and Patnam Mahender Reddy will be given Lok Sabha tickets in 2019 as KCR wants to field “strong candidates”.

“The CM has already hinted that the ministers should be ready to face Lok Sabha elections in 2019. In return, he has promised to give a few of their relatives a chance to contest from the Asse-mbly segments that they will vacate,” the sources said, adding that KCR wants to contest the Medak Lok Sabha seat and Siddipet Assembly seat in 2019 and decide whether to continue in national or state politics depending on the political scenario after the results.

In 2014, KCR had contested from Medak Lok Sabha and Gajwel Asse-mbly seats, and won both. With TRS coming to po-wer, he retained the Asse-mbly seat to become CM and resigned as Medak MP. Now, Siddipet MLA Harish Rao, who has be-en representing the segment since 2004, will be asked to contest for the Zaheerabad Lok Sabha seat.

Similarly, KCR wants Huzurnagar MLA Etela to contest for Karimna-gar Lok Sabha seat, on the understanding that the Huzurnagar seat will go to Etela’s wife. Srihari will contest for the Wara-ngal Lok Sabha seat, which he won in 2014, th-ough he subsequently resigned to become deputy CM and was nominated as an MLA.

Tummala is likely to be fielded from the Khammam in place of defected YSRC MP Ponguleti Sri-nivas Reddy, who is likely to be offered Tummala’s Palair Assembly seat.

Srinivas Yadav will fight for the Secunderabad seat, and the Sanathnagar Assembly seat that he will vacate will be offered to his son.

Mahender Reddy is likely to be fielded from Chevella and sitting MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy will be offered the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat, currently held by C. Malla Reddy, who defected from the TD to the TRS.

According to party insiders, the CM’s survey has found that Malla Reddy cannot win Malkajgiri in 2019 as he has failed to concentrate on public iss-ues and thus lost ground.

KCR to launch Rythu Bandhu at Huzurabad

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chan-drasekhar Rao will launch the distribution of cheques for his cherished Rythu Bandhu scheme, and the new electronic pattadar passbooks, on May 10, at 11 am, at Huzurabad in Karimnagar district.

This programme will be officially launched in all the districts of the state on the same day at 11.15 am and it will go on till May 17.

From the next day, the distribution programme will be held from 7 am to 11 am and 5 pm to 7.30 pm, keeping in view the severe heat conditions prevailing in the state.

The CM ordered officials to put up tents and provide drinking water at distribution centres.

As on date, all the che-ques and passbooks have reached the districts and the Chief Minister told officials to examine and distribute them village-wise.

He instructed officials to inform the date of distribution to farmers in each village.

He told ministers and officials of revenue and agriculture departments concerned to visit the distribution centres and monitor the programme.

Under the scheme, aro-und 58 lakh farmers in Telangana will receive Rythu Bandhu cheques of `4,000 each for every acre they own.