Rebels upset parties applecart

Mahbubnagar: The rebel candidates are giving sleepless nights to all the major parties as they fear their presence in fray will split the votes and deprive the prospects of winning for the main candidates.

Most of these rebel candidates are those who had been expecting tickets to fight the Assembly elections from their parties. When they were denied tickets, they are fighting elections as independent or on the national parties’ tickets and doing rigorous election campaigning nothing short of the candidates nominated by their respective parties which is troubling the parties. Some rebels who have joined the national parties like BSP, NCP and BLF, consider it a big opportunity to try their luck.

For instance in Shadnagar constituency, TRS state leader Veerapally Shankar after failing his chances of getting the party ticket and KCR giving priority to already standing candidate Anajaiah Yadav, he decided to contest from BSP and playing a havoc for both TRS and Congress party prospects of winning.

With Veerapally Shankar not relenting spending on election campaigning on par with main candidates of leading parties, the Congress and TRS contestants are facing tough time to counter him and they fear defeat even before the elections are held.

“Congress and TRS have got their chances as MLAs from Shadnagar earlier and have done nothing for the constituency. Now I am urging the public to give me a chance and I will prove my mettle and develop Shadnagar,” said Shankar.

In Mahbubnagar, the Congress rebel Ibrahim, who had also expected an MLA ticket from the party, after getting denied the same is contesting as a BSP candidate and giving tough time to both Mahakutami and TRS candidates in the district.

He was successful in inviting national party leader BSP chief Mayawati and conducted a grand public meeting with more than 50,000 people in the heart of Mahbubnagar district. With the success of BSP meeting both the TRS and Congress-supported TDP candidates are undergoing nightmares as they fear defeat.

Another leader Marepally Surender Reddy, who is also a Congress rebel has also filed his nomination from NCP and is seeing high chances of winning because those voters who are against the TDP and TRS will migrate to NCP and prospects for his winning are very high. During his elections he is trying to attract these voters towards him and equally spending a good amount to ensure he win in the elections.

Similarly in Makthal and Narayanpet also the situation of independents winning the elections is very high. Jalandhar Reddy in Makthal is expected to split the Congress and TRS votes and with a little campaign of his own, he is expected to out-shadow TRS Makthal candidate Ram Mohan Reddy and TDPs Dayakar Rao.

While in Narayanpet constituency, Shiva Kumar Reddy, who was also denied a ticket from Congress is contesting from BLF and is expected to split the votes of Congress and TRS parties and expected to give a tough fight to standing SK Rajender Reddy of TRS and Saraf Krishna of congress party contestant.

The recent survey results released by Lagadapati Rajagopal also evidently proved that rebel and independent candidates in Mahbubnagar district are having better prospects than the main party candidates in the district.