HYDERABAD: BJP has announced 20 more candidates for Telangana polls, taking the total now to 86. Surprisingly, Choppadandi leader Bodige Shobha who quit TRS and joined BJP on Thursday did not figure in the list. The move has further deepened suspense for Shobha who was hoping to get a BJP ticket.
Not unlike the TRS and Grand Alliance, the BJP State office also witnessed high tension and drama ahead of the release of names, with aspirants raising strong opposition against newcomers being given preference in ticket allotment. The latest list has also left several disappointed. Despite tall promises of empowerment by the party, only two among the 20 names announced Thursday were women.
Union Minister JP Nadda, who is in-charge of the party’s Telangana poll prospects, got gheraoed at Jubilee Hills by irate party workers. They demanded that local candidates be given preference. They raised slogans at the BJP office and demanded Secunderabad MP Bandaru Dattatreya to intervene.
It has been learnt that the party is waiting for more last-minute ‘parachute candidates’ to land from other parties before the final list is announced such as Aravind Reddy TRS leader from Mancherial