HYDERABAD: With less than couple of months to go for the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is still pruning its list of candidates for the 17 seats in Telangana.

The party won four seats in Telangana in the 2019 general elections, its best performance till date. The BJP is looking to improve its tally, bouyed by its success in the Telangana Assembly elections where it won eight seats.

Though the BJP has not made its list official, there is consensus and seems to be a mere formality where three of the four sitting MPs are likely to be renominated from their seats. This includes Dharmapuri Arvind from Nizamabad, Kishan Reddy from Secunderabad and Bandi Sanjay from Karimnagar.

The only casualty seems to be Soyam Bapu. The party has put the Adilablad ticket on hold. Though Bapu Rao is still confident of getting a ticket again, he is facing strong opposition by leaders from the region. Bapu Rao allegedly did not cooperate with the local aspirants during the Telangana Assembly elections.

He also embarassed the party with his controversial statements that he diverted the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds for his son's wedding.

Former MP Ramesh Rathod, Bhainsa market committee chairman Rajesh Babu and Dr Naitham Sumalatha who works with the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS)-Adilabad, are the frontrunners for the seat.

Too many aspirants for Malkajgiri

While the party has more or less finalised Konda Vishweshwar Reddy as its candidate from Chevella, there is heavy competition for the prestigious Malkajgiri seat. Though Etala Rajender contested from both the Gajwel and Huzurabad constituencies and lost in the last Assembly elections, he is a front runner for the Malkajgiri ticket.

Infact Etala organised breakfast meeting with party cadres in the constituency on Wednesday indicating that he is the likely contestant. However there are reports that senior leader Muralidhar Rao is also seeking a ticket here from the party.

Hyderabad ticket to Raja Singh?  

There is heavy speculation that Goshamahal MLA Raja Singh would be fielded for the Hyderabad MP seat against AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi but Raja Singh has made his intentions public and is not keen on the contest. He infact wants the party to give him a ticket for the Secunderabad MP seat. Apart from Raja Singh, Virinchi Hospitals chairperson Kompella Madhavi Latha's name is doing the rounds as the BJP candidate from Hyderabad. She has already started campaigning for the polls.

Medak: Former MLA Raghunandana Rao who lost his Dubbaka seat in the last Assembly elections is seeking a ticket from Medak. However, party Sangareddy president Godhavari Anji Reddy too could be offered a ticket there.

Bhuvanagiri: Boora Narsaiah Goud, who shifted loyalties to the BJP during the Telangana Assembly elections, is hoping for a ticket from Bhuvanagiri. Other aspirants for the seat include Vedire Sriram and Manohar Reddy.

Mahabubnagar: There is heavy pressure from both DK Aruna and Jithender Reddy for this seat. However, BJP State treasurer Bhandari Shanthi Kumar has also thrown his hat in the ring from the constituency.

Zaheerabad: It would be interesting to see if the BJP offers a ticket to Tollywood producer Dil Raju. Both the BJP and the Congress are trying to woo him. However, due to recent political developments, there is a chance that the party might offer a ticket to current BRS Zaheerabad MP BB Patil if he joins the BJP.

Nagarkurnool: With Nagarkurnool MP Pothuganti Ramulu qutting the BRS on Wednesday, it is expected that he would join the BJP soon and he or his son would be offered a ticket from the constituency. There is a possibility that the BJP might also offer a ticket to a woman leader Bangaru Shruti (Bangaru Laxman's daughter).

Nalgonda: There is no strong contender from the constituency and has always been a weak segment for the party. Aspirants for this seat includes Garlapati Jithendra Kumar, Saidi Reddy, Raja Ram Yadav and Chinnappa Reddy.

Khammam: The ticket to this constituency could either go to industrialist Tandra Vinod or noted doctor in the constituency Dr Gongura Venkateswarlu.

Mahbubabad: There are no strong contenders from the party here too but the ticket could go to Jatothu Hussain Naik or Krishnaveni Naik

Warangal: There is no strong contender here too but the ticket could be offered to retired IPS officer Krishna Prasad or Subhash.

Peddapalli: Senior leader S Kumar is the race for the seat along with singer Mittapalli Surender.