After unilaterally withdrawing from contest in 2023 Assembly elections in Telangana, the TDP leadership is said to be keen to make its presence felt in the state by contesting from Khammam Lok Sabha constituency in the forthcoming polls. Its allay, BJP is also responding positively for this move, expecting that would benefit their candidates in Greater Hyderabad constituencies.
In an attempt to prevent division among anti-government voters, so that to defeat KCR’s BRS regime, last year TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, while in Rajahmundry prison, decided not to put up any candidate in Telangana. In a way, that helped Congress to dethrone KCR’s 10-year regime. That also sent a shocking wave to AP Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy, who is having close political association with him.
As presently, KCR’s dominance in Telangana politics is at the receiving end and Congress seems to be consolidating its position in the state, TDP felt that it should not give up its claims on Telangana, as the party was born from the soil of Telangana only.
Moreover, Khammam constituency is the border of Andhra Pradesh and socially people are more connected with AP, than Hyderabad. TDP has a good cadre still in that area and it can give a good fight. Moreover, BJP is not in a position to give a good fight from here.
BJP till now announced its candidates for 16 constituencies and only Warangal and Khammam were kept pending. Former BRS MLA Aroori Ramesh, who joined BJP two days ago, is likely to be BJP candidate for Warangal. With regard to Khammam, though initially BJP felt to field former MLA Jalagam Venkata Rao, who joined BJP last week, it found some hardships.
BJP state president and union minister G Kishan Reddy and others said to be opposing the move to leave Khammam seat to TDP and suggesting that alliance with TDP should be confined to Andhra Pradesh only. However, a section of BJP argued that as most of the candidates announced by BJP are drawn from other parties and hardly any committed BJP worker is accommodated, there will be no wrong in giving a seat to TDP.
Moreover, they felt that TDP is still having a lot of sympathizers in Greater Hyderabad and few other places in Telangana. Giving them a seat would help BJP in getting additional votes in other constituencies. Otherwise, they fears, such voters may move towards BRS.
