As the deadline for withdrawal of nominations will expire on Thursday, the leadership of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has made no serious attempt to mollify the rebels who have filed their papers with a view to ensure that they pulled out.
Unlike the Congress which reached out to all the rebels, the TRS top leaders reportedly did not take the pain to talk to them and see that they did not cut into the vote of the party by their presence. Barring, minister in caretaker government K.T. Rama Rao, who reportedly spoke to a TRS rebel Kotha Manohar Reddy in Maheswaram constituency, the party apparently ignored all the others who entered the fray after having been denied ticket.
Sources said the leadership could not address the rebel problem as it was too busy with campaign. They said the problem was not unmanageable because only half-a-dozen candidates who could make a marked difference to the result had filed nominations.
Small number
Apart from Mr. Manohar Reddy, others in this bracket included Mr. Korukanti Chander at Ramagundam, Mr. Pannala Harish Reddy at Kukatpally, Mr. Gajjela Nagesh at Secunderabad Cantonment, Mr. Manne Goverdhan Reddy at Khairatabad and Mr. Nakka Prabhakar Goud at Medchal.
Incidentally, most of them filed nominations on Bahujan Samaj Party ticket as the party returned two nominees in 2014 elections. Both of them, A. Indrakaran Reddy and Koneru Konappa, joined the TRS after their victory.
A candidate who contested on behalf of TRS in 2014 but was denied ticket this time was firm on remaining in the contest as an independent . He said he was not approached by anyone in the party whom he could take seriously. Launching an attack on the official candidate, he said the TRS cadre in the constituency was his strength as the former won on TDP ticket last time and switched over to TRS but did not reward its cadre with posts. All the posts of market and temple committees went to TDP workers. Sources did not rule out financial angle to the entry of rebels in the contest as some of them had negotiated a large amount from official candidates for pulling out.
