Filing of nominations came to an end in Telangana, where election to the lok Sabha is scheduled to be held on April 30.
As Wednesday was believed to be an auspicious day, there was a flood of candidates in all the 119 Assembly and 17 lok Sabha constituencies in the region to file nominations. Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhar Rao, Telangana Congress Committee president Ponnal lakshmaiah, former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya and CPI State secretary K Narayana were among those who filed their nominations on Wednesday.
TRS president filed his nomination both from Medak Parliamentary and Gajwel Assembly constituencies while his daughter filed the nomination from Nizamabad lok Sabha constituency. Ponnala lakshmaiah entered the fray from Janagam assembly constituency. Film star Vijaya Shanti filed her nomination from Medak assembly constituency. Thus the much-awaited battle better KCR and his protégé turned political foe Vijaya Shanti did not materialize as they are now contesting from different places.
The other notables to file nomination today include union minister Jaipal Reddy from Mahbubnagar, former union minister Ch Vidyasagar Rao (BJP) and Congress sitting MP Ponam Prabhakar from Karimnagar and Telugu Desam Parliamentary group leader Nama Nageshwara Rao from Khammam. Former Director General of Police V Dinesh Reddy filed his nomination from Malkajgiri constituency where he will be pitted against union minister and Congress candidate Sarve Satyanarayana and lok Satta President Jayprakash Narayan.
In the assembly elections former state Congress president D Srinivas filed nomination from Nizmabad rural and the MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi from Chandrayangutta in Hyderabad.
However confusion and wrangling continued in most of the major political parties till the last minute and some of the parties including the BJP announced the final list of their candidates at the last minute.
Meanwhile trouble continued to dog the Telugu Desam and the BJP as the disappointed workers and leaders of both the parties gave vent to their frustration over denial of seats and tickets.
It was one more day of protests by the unhappy TDP workers outside the residence of party president N Chandrababu Naidu. While the party workers from Telangana held the fort till yesterday, it was the turn of the workers from Seemandhra to sit on protest as the party started announcing the candidates for the second phase of elections.
In Nalgonda, angry party workers ransacked the district office of the TDP.
In lB Nagar assembly constituency of Hyderabad the TDP candidate R Krishnaiah’s car was attacked and damaged by angry rivals. Krishnaiah, the President of Backward Class Welfare Association, had joined the TDP recently.
Chandrababu Naidu also suffered a major jolt in his home district of Chittoor when the district party president J Srinivasulu resigned from the party and joined YSR Congress party.
Even the senior most TDP leader Ashok Gajapati Raju was also unhappy with the decision to leave his family fiefdom Gajapatinagaram to the BJP. Another strong Naidu loyalist Revant Reddy also revolted and his supporters tried to barge in to Naidu’s residence when he was denied ticket from Malkajgiri lok Sabha ticket. Naidu wanted to leave this crucial seat to lok Satta’s Jayprakash Narayan.
It was with great difficulty that Revant was dissuaded from filing the nomination as independent candidate. Khammam was also rocked by the clashes between two groups of TDP one loyal to MP Nama Nageshwara Rao and other to the backward class leader and MlC Balasani.
In the same constituency, Jai Samakhiya Andhra party candidate Nagarjuna was attacked by the supporters of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). As JSP of Kiran Kumar Reddy was opposing Telangana state, TRS said that the party had no right to exist on the soil of Telangana.
Congress also suffered a setback in Khammam when its district unit chief V Venkateshwara Rao resigned from the party and joined YSRC Congress. In Tirupati a prominent Congress leader C K Babu quit the party and joined YSRCP.
The “son stroke” as also affected the BJP which has given ticket to Nagam Shashidhar Reddy from Nagarkurnool assembly constituency. His father Nagam Janardhan Reddy is party’s candidate from Nagarkurnool lok Sabha constituency against sitting MP Manda Jagannadham of TRS. He was elected last time on Congress ticket but recently switched over to TRS.