BRS likely to release first list of 87 candidates on August 21

HYDERABAD: There is heavy speculation that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), is poised to unveil its first list of candidates for the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections on August 21, 2023.

BRS President and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) reportedly had finalised candidates for nearly all the seats and was awaiting an auspicious moment to make the announcement.

The initial list is expected to encompass candidates for 87 seats, while the names for the remaining 32 seats will be disclosed later. The State Assembly elections with 119 seats is scheduled to be held in November or December.

With the commencement of Sravana Masam on Friday (August 18), KCR is anticipated to reveal the candidate list on either August 21 as he believes the day to be auspicious. It's speculated that KCR has already selected candidates for 112 seats.

Party sources indicated that about 95 per cent of the current sitting legislators would be fielded once more. KCR has reportedly projected changes only in around 10-12 constituencies.

Sources indicated that seats in two constituencies in the erstwhile Adilabad district, and one each in Medak, Warangal, Karimnagar and Ranga Reddy might be denied to sitting MLAs.

According to party insiders, a Legislative Council member and a Zilla Parishad chairperson were also expected to be included as candidates by the party.

The BRS presently holds 104 seats in the 119-member State Assembly, with 14 MLAs from Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) having joined the party after the 2018 elections.

Given that certain constituencies were experiencing internal discord due to opposition to sitting MLAs from within the party and the presence of multiple aspirants for tickets, KCR is likely to announce candidates for these segments at a later date.

Speaking in the state Assembly on August 5, KCR expressed confidence that the BRS would regain power with seven to eight seats more than in the last elections.

KCR, whose party won 88 seats, is optimistic about securing a hat-trick. Unlike the 2018 elections when KCR announced candidates for 105 constituencies in one go, this time he intends to unveil 87 names in the first list. This strategy allows any candidates who may have been left out to be accommodated in the subsequent list. It's anticipated that the BRS chief would contest once again from Gajwel in Siddipet district.