lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Mar 21, 2019 21:58 IST

Telangana Rashtra Samithi retained seven sitting MPs, dropped four and fielded 10 new faces in the elections to 17 Lok Sabha seats to be held on April 11.

TRS president and chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao released the list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections on Thursday evening after a hectic exercise.

The sitting MPs who will be contesting their seats again are: KCR’s daughter Kalvakuntla Kavitha (Nizamabad), B Vinod Kumar (Karimnagar), B Narsaiah Goud (Bhongir), G Nagesh (Adilabad), Pasunuri Dayakar (Warangal), BB Patil (Zaheerabad) and Kotha Prabhakar Reddy (Medak).

Contrary to speculations, KCR won’t be contesting the Lok Sabha elections to play a bigger role at the national level.

The TRS president dropped four sitting MPs - A P Jithender Reddy from Mahbubnagar, D Sitaram Naik from Mahabubabad, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy from Khammam and Gutha Sukhender Reddy from Nalgonda parliamentary constituencies.

Of them, the first two were elected on the TRS tickets in 2014, while Srinivas Reddy was elected on a YSR Congress party ticket and Sukhender Reddy on Congress ticket, but they later defected to the TRS.

In place of these four dropped MLAs, the TRS announced the names of Manne Srinivasa Reddy (Mahabubnagar), Malothu Kavitha (Mahabubabad), Nama Nageshwar Rao (Khammam) and Vemireddy Narasimha Reddy (Nalgonda).

KCR, as the chief minister is known, also announced new candidates in place of two other former TRS MPs - Balka Suman from Peddapalli and Ch Malla Reddy from Malkajgiri, who had resigned from their posts and got elected as MLAs from Chennur and Medchal assembly constituencies respectively in the December 7 elections.

While a new comer Borlakunta Venkatesh Nethakani was given ticket from Peddapalli, Malla Reddy’s son-in-law Marri Rajasekhar Reddy will contest from Malkajgiri.

Interestingly, Venkatesh Nethakani and Nama Nageshwara Rao defected from Congress and the Telugu Desam Party into the TRS only on Friday.

The TRS president also fielded new candidates in Chevella, Secunderabad, Malkajgiri and Nagarkurnool constituencies, as well. In Chevella, where sitting MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy defected to the Congress before the December 7 assembly elections, the party has fielded industrialist Dr Ranjit Reddy.

In Secunderabad and Nagarkurnool, where the sitting MPs are from opposition parties - Bandaru Dattatreya from BJP and Nandi Yellaiah from the Congress, the TRS fielded Talasani Sai Yadav, son of minister Talasani Srinivasa Yadav and former MLA P Ramulu respectively.

In Hyderabad parliamentary constituency, the TRS chief fielded one Puste Srikanth, who is said to be a dummy candidate, to fight against Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi. KCR has already declared MIM as a friendly party.