MAHBUBNAGAR: Following the dissolution of the State’s Assembly, the political heat has gone up in Mahbubnagar district. The ruling TRS party has already declared its candidates for 13 Assembly segments. Of this, names of 8 sitting MLAs have found place in the list declared by caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
In five of the remaining seats, four new candidates were provided party tickets replacing those who lost the previous elections. Only in one of the seats have a candidate who lost the previous election managed to gain a ticket. The candidates are already touring their respective constituencies and taking stock of the situation.
Meanwhile, in the rival Congress party, there is a heavy competition for party tickets. Keeping this in mind, the party has not yet declared its candidates. However, all sitting MLAs including former minister D K Aruna, Vamshi Chand Reddy, Sampath Kumar, Revanth Reddy and Chinna Reddy are likely to gain party tickets.
BJP, on the other hand, is focusing on six Assembly segments in the district as it has sizeable presence in these constituencies. The party has therefore decided to hold a public meeting with its national president as the chief guest in Mahbubnagar on September 15.
On the other hand, the new entrant in the State’s political scene, Telangana Jana Samithi, headed by Prof Kodandaram, is already holding village level review meetings in order to strengthen its position. The leaders of the Left parties are also holding dharnas and other agitation programmes as preparations for the elections. The competition is likely to go head-to-head between the candidates of the ruling party and the opposition for the upcoming polls.