Tension prevailed at a rally of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Wednesday after a man allegedly attempted self-immolation to protest the denial of a party ticket to a leader that he supported, for the assembly polls.
The rally was being addressed by TRS MP Balka Suman who was named as the MLA candidate for Chennur in Mancherial district.
The police said that 16 people were injured when the man, identified as Gattaiah, doused himself in petrol and attempted to self-immolate. Eye witnesses claimed that Gattaiah also approached the MP in an attempt to attack him but was foiled by police and security officials. Suman was later escorted to safety.
A police inspector was injured in the meele, while some mediapersons also suffered minor burns. Gattaiah is also presently undergoing treatment.
Gattaiah was reported to be a follower of present Chennur MLA Nallala Odelu, who was among the few who were not given a ticket to contest again by Telangana caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
On Tuesday, high drama prevailed as Odelu had locked himself up in his own house for several hours along with his family, staging a protest and demanding his renomination from the constituency.
Though he claimed that he would not step out of his house till his demands were met, Odelu later called off the protest reportedly after a phone call from KCR.
Addressing party workers on Wednesday, Balka Suman said, "KCR gave me a ticket and announced my name for Chennur seat. Intentionally, one person tried to throw petrol on me while another tried to throw a matchstick. My supporters, party workers and security officials acted immediately and saved me. I want to tell those making attempts on my life to stop all this drama. I will definitely contest and win from Chennur because it is not my decision, but one made by KCR. I'm not afraid of any such media."
Hours after the dissolution of the Telangana state Assembly on September 6, the ruling TRS announced candidates for 105 constituencies. KCR announced the names at a news conference at TRS headquarters -- Telangana Bhavan. He said only two sitting candidates were denied tickets, adding that the candidates for the remaining 14 constituencies would be announced soon.
KCR was addressing the media a couple of hours after the cabinet meeting, which recommended dissolution of the Assembly to pave way for early polls in the state. Governor ESL Narasimhan accepted the recommendation.