ADILABAD : TRS has decided to play it safe for the upcoming polls by allotting tickets to sitting MLAs in the tribal reserve constituencies of Khanapur, Boath and Asifabad in the district. Boath constituency was allotted to Rathod Bapu Rao, Khanapur to Rekha Naik and Asifabad to Kova Laxmi. There are as many as 1.20 lakh Lambadas and 2.80 lakh Adivasis in the district. Sources say that the party chose to give tickets to sitting MLAs in order to avoid resentment among the people from minority communities, which could in turn affect the party’s prospects in the polls.
It has been learnt that prominent parties like Congress and BJP might also adopt a similar strategy in these constituencies. Speaking to reporters, Adivasi Sena district president K Daulath Rao said that under TRS rule, no stand was taken on the demands of Adivasis to remove Lambadas from ST category.
“The people of our community have been engaging in agitations for the last two years, demanding the government to remove migrated Lambadas from ST category,” he said. They have entered the State from neighbouring States and then claim ST certificates in order to take benefits from the government, he added.