The Hindu : Several TRS rebels enter fray

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 01, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Several TRS rebels enter fray

By Our Staff Reporter

NIZAMABAD, MARCH 31. The last list of the Telugu Desam Party released in the early hours of today had more surprises with the Minister for Technical Education, Nerella Anjaneyulu, being dropped in favour of the former MLA, Gampa Goverdhan.

If the TDP sprang a surprise by dropping a Minister and accommodating a new comer, the Telangana Rastra Samiti faced a revolt as several rebel candidates decided to enter the fray from the Yellareddy segment. The party has not issued the `B' form so far to the official candidate. Confusion continued till the completion of the filing of nominations.

The party aspirants filed their nominations from the seat allotted to the Congress. The Congress nominee from Banswada, B. Goverdhan, faced trouble as the supporters of the Varni MPP, Srinivas Goud, opposed his entry into the constituency. He was first elected to the Assembly from the Armoor segment but was shifted to Banswada as the seat was allotted to the TRS.

Confusion reigned as it was not clear as to who would be fielded from the Yellareddy, Bodhan and Balkonda assembly segments. Mr. Anjaneyulu was in the race for the Yellareddy ticket to make it four in a row. He was elected to the Assembly in 1989, 1994 and 1999. He was the Government Whip, Chairman of Civil Supplies Corporation before being elevated as a Minister.

Growing resentment against him and the non-cooperation from the cadre seemed to have prompted the party high command to drop him in favour of Mr. Gampa Goverdhan, who was elected from Kamareddy in 1994 and dropped in 1999. He was a strong contender for the Kamareddy seat allotted to the Bharatiya Janata Party. There was strong opposition to the decision to allot the seat to the BJP.

As pressure mounted on the party, the leaders as a via media proposed the name of Mr. Yusuf Ali for the Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat and shifted Mr. Goverdhan, to Yellareddy. Dramatic developments took place late last night as the party first nominated Rajamani. Within two hours, the party changed its mind and decided to bring in Mr. Goverdhan.

TDP circles in Bodhan segment were in for a shock as a rank newcomer and Government employee, Abdul Qadir, walked away with ticket. Hectic parleys are believed to have taken place for the selection of the Bodhan nominee. The TDP was in trouble in the constituency due to infighting.

The party found it difficult to accommodate one of the senior leaders for the seat fearing reprisal from the rival leaders. Hence, they scouted for a new face and zeroed in on a woman lecturer belonging to the minority community and the Government employee. Finally, Mr. Qadir was summoned and issued ticket.

In Balkonda, the party could not decide on an able candidate till the last minute. There were several aspirants for the ticket with G.Vasant Reddy, in the forefront.

The general impression given by the party was that they were looking for a new face. The party also considered the candidature of a doctor from Armoor town, who is widely respected in the division.

There were others also who lobbied hard to secure the ticket. However, luck smiled on Mr. Vasant Reddy, who got the nod to contest the elections from the Balkonda segment.

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