‘KCR will not contest in 2019 Lok Sabha elections’

HYDERABAD: ‘Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao will not contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls’. Top leaders in the party dismissed reports of Rao considering an MP seat as speculation and added that he had no such plans.

“Chandrasekhar Rao is currently concentrating on the administration of the State and the fulfilment of assurances given in our manifesto during Assembly elections. He will not contest in the Lok Sabha polls,” said a top source in the party. However, he added, Rao’s is working hard to win 16 out of the 17 MP seats in the State.

According to sources, Rao is of the view that BJP and the Congress will not get good numbers and will not be able to form the government on their own. “He believes that if TRS manages to win 16 (Lok Sabha) seats, it will emerge as a formidable force in national politics and even be in a position to decide the next government,” said a leader.

According to TRS’ analysis, both BJP and Congress are no longer strong in Uttar Pradesh, which with its 80 seats, can decide the fate of both parties. TRS leaders predict that an SP-BSP combine will win a large number of seats there, thereby leading to a hung Parliament. In such a scenario, TRS wishes to play kingmaker. “Once TRS establishes itself as a force to be reckoned with at the Centre, The State can bargain for more funds from the Centre,” a leader said.

Party sources said that the TRS showed a clear edge in 14 Lok Sabha seats in the recent Assembly elections. “We are weak in only two seats — Mahbubabad and Khammam,” said the leader. 
Recent moves by the Chief Minister, such as his visit to Kaleshwaram project and formation of two new districts, will boost the people’s confidence, claimed party sources.

Truck symbol cost us, claim sources

TRS sources said that candidates fighting on the truck symbol got a combined 2.13 lakh votes in the State. “Had people not gotten confused between the car (TRS) and truck symbols, we could have won more seats. Of course, Congress has become quite weak and is unlikely to recover from the shock before Lok Sabha elections,” a leader said.