HYDERABAD: Putting an end to several days of suspense, the TRS announced that Nomula Bhagat Kumar, son of sitting MLA Nomula Narsimhaiah, will contest from Nagarjuna Sagar, the bypoll of which will be held on April 17. The byelection was necessitated following the death of Narsimhaiah three months ago.
Bhagat will file his nomination papers on Tuesday. TRS president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao handed over the B-form to Bhagat at Telangana Bhavan on Monday afternoon. He also gave a cheque for Rs 28 lakh to the party candidate towards campaigning expenses.
Though the nomination process began on March 23, the ruling party did not announce the candidate’s name mainly to prevent poaching of its candidates by other parties, especially BJP.
Before finalising Bhagat’s name, KCR held a meeting with Bhagat and Narsimhaiah’s wife Laxmi along with erstwhile Nalgonda district TRS leaders. He reportedly promised an MLC seat to MC Koti Reddy, who was an aspirant for the party ticket from Nagarjuna Sagar.
Bhagat thanked the CM for reposing faith in him and his family. He said KCR recognised the services of his late father, who joined the TRS after quitting the CPM.
The TRS candidate said over one lakh people are getting the benefits of various government schemes in the constituency and added that he does not foresee any threat from the BJP.
Bhagat (37) is an engineering graduate and did his PG in law. He has been working for the TRS since 2014 along with his father. Before joining politics, he worked as a junior engineer and assistant manager in private firms between 2008 and 2012. Since then, he has been practising as an advocate. He is also chairman of Nomula NL Foundation.