HYDERABAD: With chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao zeroing in on Nomula Bhagat, the son of late Nomula Narasimhaiah, the hide-and-seek game between the TRS and the BJP came to an end.
After enduring a bitter experience in the MLC elections when the TRS surprised everyone, particularly the BJP, by choosing PV Narasimha Rao’s daughter Surabhi Vani Devi as its candidate for the Mahbubnagar-Rangareddy-Hyderabad constituency, the saffron party played the waiting game. Only after Bhagat’s name was announced the BJP selected Dr Ravi Kumar Naik for the Nagarjuna Sagar bypoll.
The BJP, in fact, don’t have a strong candidate to take on the likes of veteran legislator K Jana Reddy of the Congress or the might of the ruling party. The party even pondered over fielding actress Vijayashanti and Congress MLA Komatiredy Rajagopal Reddy. Despite being a Congress MLA, the latter gave enough hints that he is moving towards the BJP.
Interestingly, the TRS was a bit worried as two of its leaders, with significant influence, had aspired for the ticket. Koti Reddy, a close associate of minister Jagadeeswar Reddy, and Tera Chinnapa Reddy tried hard to secure the party candidature till the last minute.
Sources in the BJP told TOI that TRS decided to field Bhagat but waited till the end as they feared rebellion from Koti Reddy. “TRS certainly scored over us again. They managed to pacify the dissenters. But their moves will not deter us from working hard. We have been focusing on the important issues,” the source said.
The BJP is not bereft of internal squabbles. The party was disappointed after their leader K Nivedita Reddy filed her nomination even before the candidature of Ravi Kumar was announced. Many workers are supporting Nivedita and feel she could have fetched more votes.