HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now shifting its focus to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections after failing to secure desired results in the recent Assembly polls. There are discussions within the party regarding potential candidates to be fielded in Lok Sabha constituencies.
Interestingly, several party leaders who did not show interest in contesting the Assembly elections are keen to test their luck in the Lok Sabha polls because of the Modi mania sweeping the country as was evident in the success the saffron party achieved in the recent Assembly elections in the north. The leaders are also discussing the criteria the BJP may apply in selection of candidates.
The party has four MPs from the state, including Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy, who represents the Secunderabad constituency, Bandi Sanjay Kumar from Karimnagar, Dharmapuri Arvind from Nizamabad and Soyam Bapu Rao from Adilabad.
The three sitting MPs — Bandi Sanjay, Arvind and Bapu Rao — contested unsuccessfully in the recent Assembly elections. Now, they want to fight the Lok Sabha elections, but the party wants to conduct a survey on their performance as MPs in the last five years. Apart from these four, there are senior leaders who are keen to throw their hat in the ring if the party gives them an opportunity.
Bandi or Eatala?
Kishan Reddy is most likely to seek re-election from the Secunderabad. Eatala Rajender though he lost against former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in Gajwel and his home turf of Huzurabad in the Assembly polls does not want to give up.
According to buzz in the Karimnagar political circles, he is likely to be fielded in the Karimnagar LS segment, but Bandi Sanjay is the sitting MP in the constituency. Against this background, the saffron party will find itself in a tricky situation to accommodate one leader and ignore the other.
Sources in the party say that Eatala Rajender has an unambiguous commitment from the the high command to give him the ticket to contest in the Lok Sabha elections if he loses against KCR in Gajwel as well as in Huzurabad.
Some party leaders believe that the BJP may field Eatala in the Medak LS constituency, but former Dubbak MLA M Raghunandan Rao is also said to be expecting the ticket in this segment. Arvind and Bapu Rao are likely to contest again in their respective LS constituencies of Nizamabad and Adilabad though they lost in the Assembly elections.
No strong leaders
The BJP which does not have strong leaders in Peddapalli, Mahabubabad and Zaheerabad Lok Sabha segments is said to be identifying potential candidates to win the seats.In Mahbubnagar, two senior leaders — BJP national vice president and former minister DK Aruna and former MP Jitender Reddy — are expecting the ticket.
Nagarkurnool is another LS segment where the saffron party lacks a candidate who can take on the two rivals — Congress and the BRS.Former MP Boora Narsaiah Goud is ready to contest in Bhongir and former MLC Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy is preparing to contest from Khammam. The BJP is said to be looking for a strong candidate from the Reddy community in Nalgonda.
According to rumours doing the rounds in the BJP, MRPS leader Manda Krishna Madiga may get the party ticket to contest in the Warangal Lok Sabha segment.The MRPS leader was hugged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a massive public meeting held at Parade Grounds in Secunderabad recently.
Former MP Konda Visweswar Reddy has started his ground work in Chevella expecting to get party ticket to contest from the constituency. Thus, most of the seniors in the saffron party who stayed away from the Assembly elections are preparing for parliament election fight amidst rising confidence in the BJP about winning more LS seats this time around.