HYDERABAD: The ruling TRS is now luring Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) Telangana State president L Ramana to join its ranks after former medical and health minister Eatala Rajender’s exit from the party, apparently to fill the void in Karimnagar district from where both of them hail. Sources said the TRS was dangling the carrot of an MLC seat before Ramana t o sway him though, on record, he r ema ins non-committal. “I have not yet taken any decision,” was his terse reply to reporters’ queries on Monday.
Ramana’s former colleague in TDP and current Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao is said to have conveyed the message that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was keen for Ramana to change horses midstream. The TRS’ move appears to be a strategy to win back Karimnagar and Nizamabad Lok Sabha seats, which it lost to BJP in the 2019 elections.
It is expected that Ramana would fortify the party in Jagtial — a part of the Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat, and also wield influence over BC voters in Huzurnagar — part of the Karimnagar seat. He could also boost TRS’ prospects in a possible by-election in Huzurabad. Significantly, after losing the recent Graduate MLC election, Ramana had told his close aides that he had lost hope in the TDP.