BJP first list of candidates: The BJP on Sunday released its first list of candidates consisting 52 names for the upcoming Telangana Elections 2023. Three of the BJP’s sitting Lok Sabha members – Bandi Sanjay Kumar (former Telangana BJP chief and Karimnagar MP), Dharmapuri Arvind (Nizamabad MP) and Soyam Bapu Rao (Adilabad MP) will contest in the Telangana elections. The saffron party has given tickets to 12 women contestants in its first list.
The southern state goes to polls on November 30 and the counting of votes will be on December 3. Bandi Sanjay Kumar will be contesting from Karimnagar.
Pro-Hindutva leader T Raja Singh, who faces several police cases in Hyderabad, including those related to alleged communal offences, will be contesting from his Goshamahal seat after revoking his suspension, effected August last year for alleged insulting remarks towards Prophet Mohammad. Telangana BJP chief G Kishan Reddy said in a statement on Sunday that the BJP leadership has revoked the suspension of Singh considering his explanation in response to the show cause notice served by the party earlier.
“The Central disciplinary committee of the BJP has decided to revoke the suspension of Shri T Raja Singh MLA Goshamahal from the BJP after due consideration of his explanation in response to the show cause notice served by the party. This is for the information of all the concerned,” the statement from Kishan Reddy said.
BJP legislator Etala Rajender will be contesting from two seats – one from Gajwel from where Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is contesting, and from Huzurabad, which he is representing now.
K Venkata Ramana Reddy will slug it out with the CM in Kamareddy constituency. KCR will contest from two segments in the upcoming polls – Gajwel and Kamareddy assembly constituencies.
Rani Rudrama Reddy was fielded against BRS working president and KCR’s son KT Rama Rao in Sircilla, according to the list.
Two other MPs, Soyam Bapu Rao and Dharmapuri Arvind, from Boath and Koratla.
The names were finalised during the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting of the BJP held on Friday, under the leadership of the BJP national president JP Nadda. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Home Minister Amit Shah were also present at the meeting.
In 2018 Telangana Assembly elections, the BJP had won only one seat.
