TRS to stay away from contesting Council polls

Hyderabad: Telangana Rashtra Samithi is unlikely to contest the Council elections for the Graduates constituencies in the State and would continue its policy of extending support to the candidates rather than contesting on party symbols.

Even as the opposition parties started their exercise to identify suitable candidates for the two Council seats which would be getting vacant soon, the TRS is not keen on taking any decision. Two council seats under the Graduates constituency including Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar and Khammam-Warangal-Nalgonda will be getting vacant in February 2021. Presently these seats are held by N Ramchander Rao of BJP and Rythu Bandhu Samithi Chairman P Rajeshwar Reddy respectively .

There are talks that Telangana Jana Samithi is contemplating to make its president M Kodandaram contest the election from Khammam-Warangal- Nalgonda seat and the BJP may be giving a second chance to Ramchander Rao. However, there is no talk of the Council election within the ruling party.

According to a TRS senior leader, the party is likely to continue its stand on keeping away from the Council elections. The party leader recalled that the TRS did not give B-form to the candidates in the Council seats under Teachers and Graduates constituencies, which were held just before the Lok Sabha elections. The party supported candidates lost the elections in both Teachers and Graduates constituencies held in March 2019.

Party leaders said that their main focus will be on the major elections and this time their aim was Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). "The party has not taken a decision yet on whether to contest the elections or not but going as per the previous elections, the leadership may not involve directly," said the TRS leader. The party leader recalled that P Sudhakar Reddy contested the election individually and with the support but without using the party's symbol or flag any time during the campaign.

The party had contested the elections on its symbol in previous elections. TNGO leader G Devi Prasad (HYD-RR-MBNR) and Rajeshwar Reddy (KHM-WRGL-NLG) were the candidates. While Rajeshwar Reddy had won, Devi Prasad had lost the election.