Once bitten, twice shy, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi led by former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekar Rao is most likely to make drastic changes in the list of candidates contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state to overcome the anti-incumbency against the sitting MPs.
According to party sources, the BRS is planning to drop at least six out of its nine Lok Sabha members and replace them with fresh faces. The changes are said to be in tune with the voices being heard at the ongoing review meetings of the party leaders and cadre of various parliamentary constituencies.
The party has been doing rigorous brainstorming for the last few weeks to identify factors that led to its defeat in the recent assembly elections. And the party leaders are not mincing words in pointing out lapses in the retention of candidates by the party president in the assembly polls.
This time, however, BRS working president K T Rama Rao is taking the initiative in the selection of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, ignoring his father KCR, though the list will be declared only in the name of party president.
KTR has indirectly pointed an accusing finger at his father for the goof-up in the selection of candidates by admitting before the media that at least 30 percent of the sitting MLAs should have been dropped for the assembly polls.
Since January 3, the BRS working president has been conducting the parliamentary constituency-wise preparatory meetings as a move to galvanise the party cadre and formulate a robust action plan for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
All the top leadership led by KTR and his cousin T Harish Rao along with senior leaders from all constituencies have openly discussed and dissected each and every factor that led to the party’s performance. A majority of leaders have already suggested to the party leadership not to repeat several candidates.
The party leaders even acknowledged lack of party committees, effective communication and coordination as well as inaccessibility of top leadership to the party cadre and vowed not to repeat the mistakes.
Amid these circumstances, a majority of leaders have opined that there should be a change in certain candidates. Several leaders are learnt to have requested the party leadership not to hesitate denying tickets to candidates who are not in a position to win the polls.
The party leaders have reportedly suggested for a mix of experienced leaders and fresh faces, coupled with a cautious approach to seat selection. “If the reports coming from the party are to be believed, there are likely to be fresh candidates in six of its sitting seats – Peddapalli, Mahabubnagar, Mahabubabad, Nagarkurnool and Warangal, besides Medak where the sitting MP Kotha Prabhakar Reddy got elected to the state assembly from Dubbak.
“These are the seats where the Congress and the BJP won majority of the assembly segments in the assembly elections. So, the BRS is expected to field fresh candidates,” sources said.
In Khammam, too, the BRS lost almost all the seats; yet, the BRS might retain sitting MP Nama Nageshwar Rao because of his non-controversial nature and financial strength.
In seven other constituencies, where the BRS doesn’t have representation, the party may not give tickets to at least three candidates who unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha elections, sources added.
