Upset with Telangana Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), two MLA aspirants – sitting Malkajgiri MLA Mynampally Hanumanth Rao and former minister Tummala Nageswara Rao – have declared rebellion. While Hanumanth Rao was given the opportunity to re-contest from Malkajgiri in the upcoming Assembly elections, he is disappointed over his son Rohit Reddy being denied a ticket to contest from Medak. The party has announced two-term sitting MLA Padma Devender Reddy as its candidate from Medak. On the other hand, Nageswara Rao has been refused a ticket to contest from Palair.
On Saturday, August 26, Hanumanth Rao said he would decide his future course of action in a week. Even though he has been upset with the BRS leadership, he has not attacked KCR. “I was advised not to take any hasty decision and consider the general consensus. I will continue to be loyal to whichever party I belong to,” he stated.
Similarly, Nageswara Rao said he would “definitely” contest the elections. On Friday, he held a rally without the BRS flag, seemingly indicating that he was ready to quit the party. The former minister had lost the elections from Palair in 2018 to Congress MLA Kandala Upender Reddy, who soon defected to the BRS.
Addressing the rally in his constituency, Nageswara Rao said, “Despite numerous hurdles, the people of Khammam were always there to help me get back up. For the sake of Khammam, I will definitely contest. I will not bow to anyone or anything.”
KCR had announced 115 names for 119 seats from the BRS for the upcoming Assembly elections slated to be held at the end of this year. While the CM said he will be contesting from both Gajwel and Kamareddy constituencies, nine sitting MLAs were denied tickets. The BRS has 103 MLAs in the 119-member Telangana Assembly.
Another BRS leader who almost quit and joined the Congress was MLC Patnam Mahender. To prevent him from leaving, KCR inducted him in the current state cabinet, just months before the elections.
While the BRS has managed to placate most of its leaders, it expects more rebellion as it has welcomed MLAs who defected to the Congress and other parties after the last election, leading to a clash within the party.
In the 2018 state elections, BRS won 88 out of 119 seats. The Congress joined hands with the Telugu Desam Party and other parties, but the alliance failed miserably. The Congress and TDP won 19 and two seats respectively. The All India Majilis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) retained its seven seats in Hyderabad, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won only the Goshamahal seat in Hyderabad.