Kodandaram to enter poll arena; TJS still hovers over sure seat

​Hyderabad: Suspense continues over which constituency the Telangana Jana Samithi chief Prof Kodandaram will choose to contest in upcoming Assembly elections. Names of four to five constituencies are doing rounds which include Jangaon, Warangal (West), Mancherial, Ramagundam and Secunderabad. Speculations did rounds earlier that Kodandaram might enter poll fray from Warangal (West), but party sources are tight-lipped on Kodandaram's constituency even though elections are just 50 days away. 

There was also talk some months ago that Kodandaram might be fielded from two segments in view of pressure from district units, supporters and activists with whom he developed a close association during Telangana Statehood movement. TJS leadership discussed this subject in their internal meetings to not to ignore sentiments and wishes from districts. However, party sources say chances of Kodandaram contesting elections from two constituencies are slim considering small share of seats that TJS would be getting as part of Mahakutami. 

As far as different Assembly segments whose names are in consideration, Jangaon, Warangal (West) and Mancherial appear to be on top of the list for obvious reasons. Jangaon Assembly segment has many voters, who were associated earlier with Prof Kodandaram during Statehood movement or during his professional stint as professor in Osmania University. 

Also, this segment has 40,000 voter base of caste community which Kodandaram belongs to and political experts believe Kodandaram's victory would be a cakewalk if he enters fray from Jangaon. The other reason being pointed is the geographical location of Jangaon. Party insiders say Jangaon will present an opportunity to Kodandaram to move easily between north and south Telangana for electioneering as well as campaigning in his own segment.

Rumours were rife the other day that Congress wanted Prof Kodandaram to be a star campaigner in all 119 segments without him contesting directly. However, TJS rubbished the talk and stated in no circumstances that Kodandaram would stay away from contesting polls. “The whole objective of establishing TJS was to bring in people-centric politics with active participation within the system. In such a scenario, question of Kodandaram not entering poll fray does not arise at all. Kodandaram can file nomination from any constituency and can also actively campaign for Mahakutami in remaining Assembly segments without any problems,” stated a TJS leader.