BJP announces 6 more candidates for Lok Sabha from Telangana; 9 of 12 were with BRS once

HYDERABAD: Surely, except the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), the two national parties competing with a 23-year-old party is nothing but a political bankruptcy on their part.

First things first.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which masquerades as a force to reckon with in Telangana, has named five more candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The party on Wednesday announced the following as its nominees:

• Adilabad - Godam Nagesh
• ⁠Peddapalli - Gomasa Srinivas
• Medak - M Raghunandan Rao
• Mahabubnagar- D K Aruna
• Nalgonda - Shanampudi Saidireddy
• Mahabubabad - Seetaram Naik

Irony is that all the five are imported from other parties. Except D K Aruna, who had served as a minister in the Congress government in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, all others are imported from the BRS.

Nagesh was originally from the TDP and later joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). He inherited the legacy of his father and former Tribal Welfare Minister G Rama Rao and entered the TDP and elected from Boath Assembly seat and served as a minister in the NT Rama Rao Cabinet and Chandrababu Naidu Cabinet.

He was elected the TRS MP in 2014 and he lost in 2019.

Gomasa Srinivas of Peddapalli was the first runner-up in 2009 Assembly elections when he had contested as TRS MLA candidate.

Raghunandan Rao began his political career with the TRS and quit the party before Telangana was formed. He was under long hibernation until he was named the BJP candidate in Dubbak by-election which he won by a whisker.

Shanampudi Saidireddy, an NRI was fielded by the BRS in Huzurnagar by-election and he was elected. He was very loyal to the BRS until three days ago. The BJP has fielded the BRS’s defeated MLA candidate as its MP nominee now.

Seetaram Naik was a TRS MP and had a long association with KCR until Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy called on him and made an offer of MP ticket.

Even in the first list of six candidates announced by the BJP, four were from the BRS.

Etala Rajender, who is named for Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat, was an important minister in the KCR Government until he was dropped and he had walked out and contested a by-election caused by himself from Huzurabad and won the seat.

He lost the 2023 Assembly polls from the same seat to BRS nominee.

Konda Vishweshwar Reddy who was TRS MP from Chevella Lok Sabha seat in 2014 crossed over to the Congress in 2018 and later into the BJP in 2021.

Boora Narsaiah Goud who was a TRS MP from Bhuvanagiri Lok Sabha seat between 2014 and ‘19 had lost the election in 2019. He expected an Assembly ticket when Munugode by-election happened in 2022 and KCR did not oblige him. Sulking, Dr Goud crossed over to the BJP and now he will be contesting the Bhuvanagiri Lok Sabha seat on behalf of the BJP.

BB Patil, who is named by the BJP as its candidate from Zaheerabad, has been the sitting BRS MP.

Pothuganti Bharat, who got the BJP ticket from Nagarkurnool Lok Sabha constituency, was in the BRS until his selection by the BJP. His father P Ramulu is the sitting MP from this constituency on behalf of the BRS and he quit recently to join the BJP.

Thus, the BJP has filled nine out of the 12 candidates announced so far with those who had moorings in the BRS at one point in time or the other.