KCR in hunt for new faces

Hyderabad: Stunned by the survey results which clearly indicate that TRS might lose more than 50 per cent of 62 Assembly seats it has won in 2014 in the next election, TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao has begun the exercise of finding new faces and creating a strong alternative leadership in Assembly segments where the winning prospects of the opposition Congress are brighter.

The reports have made it clear that the Pink party is struggling in many Assembly constituencies with weak leadership, mainly in the erstwhile Nalgonda, Khammam, Mahbubnagar, Ranga Reddy and parts of Nizamabad and Adilabad districts. The survey also confirmed many ministers hailing from Nalgonda, Adilabad and Mahbubnagar have been facing tough time to get elected again in 2019 hustings for consecutive time.

For instance, Energy Minister G Jagadish Reddy stood last among 62 members to win again from the Suryapet Assembly constituency in the survey. It is learnt that KCR has identified BJP leader Sankineni Venkateswara Rao as the right alternative for TRS. It was KCR's popularity alone that had helped in winning Suryapet Assembly segment in last elections. 

"KCR is worried over the party winning prospects in 40 such segments where Congress appears to be strong. Most of them are located in South Telangana districts, and some in parts of North Telangana," a senior-most leader told The Hans India. 

Leaders said that the TRS chief is confident of winning good number of seats in old Medak, Warangal and Karimnagar districts where KCR succeeded to bringing the strong TDP leaders like Errabelli Dayakar Rao and others into his fold. The major challenge before KCR to win adequate numbers of seats is to field strong leaders against Congress leaders. 

Sources said that KCR is holding series of talks with some senior Congress leaders and luring them with party tickets and posts to their followers. A big number of Congress leaders from Nalgonda district from where CLP leader Jana Reddy and TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy hailed, are already being approached.

Sources said that KCR is preparing the ground for senior Congress leaders to join the TRS after June. The incumbent TRS legislators, who are facing people’s backlash with their poor performance, have been told subtly that they will not be given party tickets in the next election. Taking the advantage of internal squabbles in Telangana Congress, the TRS leaders have already started admitting second rung leaders into the TRS fold in several assembly segments.