HYDERABAD: Former minister and MLA T Harish Rao, who is known as a troubleshooter for the Telangana Rastra Samithi (TRS), finds no place as a star campaigner for the party for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, to be held on April 11.
The TRS has picked as many as 20 prominent leaders to be its star campaigners in 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state covering Adilabad (ST), Peddapalli (SC), Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Zaheerabad, Medak, Malkajgiri, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Chevella, Mahbubnagar, Nagarkurnool (SC), Nalgonda, Bhongir, Warangal (SC), Mahabubabad (ST) and Khammam.
TRS general secretary M Sreenivas Reddy wrote to the Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana, Rajat Kumar, requesting him to issue passes for them and the vehicles they would use to campaign.Full-pitched poll campaigning would begin in the next two-to-three days, once the filing of nominations is completed on March 25 (last date for candidates to file their nominations).
The TRS submitted the details of 20 star campaigners with the vehicle numbers to the CEO, Telangana yesterday evening, a list which excluded the name of Harish Rao. The former minister played a key role in the Assembly elections held in December last year and saw that the party got maximum seats.
He also played an important role in defeating Congress candidate from Kodangal A Revanth Reddy in the last Assembly elections.
Who are the chosen 20?
Telangana Chief Minister and TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao, TRS working president, K Taraka Rama Rao, ministers Mahmood Ali, Indrakaran Reddy, Eatela Rajender, Koppula Eshwar, Errabelli Dayakar Rao, G Jagadish Reddy, Ch Malla Reddy, V Srinivas Goud, S Niranjan Reddy, V Prashanth Reddy, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, TRS secretary general K Keshava Rao, general secretary and MP J Santosh Kumar, general secretary and MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, MLC member Seri Subash Reddy, MLC, general secretary R Shravan Kumar Reddy, general secretary and MP Banda Prakash, and general secretary T Ravinder Rao