KCR plans big exercise to spot winning horses

Hyderabad: As the elections are fast approaching, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will dedicate part of his busy schedule to hold meetings with his party MLAs and also key leaders from August 16 onwards to resolve political issues and also accord clearances to the pending development programmes in their respective Assembly segments.

Till recently, there is a criticism that KCR was not available to meet any leader, including ministers, MLAs, MPs and senior leaders who always wait eagerly to have the audience with the TRS leader. The Chief Minister has already summoned a bunch of his party MLAs to meet him and explain the ground reality in their constituencies.

After the Independence Day celebrations, top sources said, KCR will concentrate more on interaction with the party legislators and leaders from state to district level. He will ascertain the TRS party’s strength and weakness and also the requirement of realignment of political equations, if any, in every Assembly segment before the elections.

As a first step, KCR will concentrate more on the Assembly constituencies where Congress is strong especially in South Telangana districts of Khammam, Nalgonda, Rangareddy and Mahbubnagar. The TRS chief has already gathered enough reports on the TRS strength in the assembly segments in these districts. To weaken the Congress in old Nalgonda district from where TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy, CLP leader K Jana Reddy and another senior leader Komatireddy Venkatreddy are representing, KCR has already announced sanction of a government medical college in Suryapet and taken up the works on war-footing.

Similarly, developmental works worth crores of rupees have been sanctioned in the assembly segments represented by Congress leaders A Revanth Reddy and DK Aruna in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district. To weaken the Congress in the three districts, KCR is evolving a political strategy in which he will announce some more sops to the districts.

Sources said that KCR will also shortlist the winning horses in the Congress stronghold segments by holding meetings with local TRS leaders and prevent any defections or anti-party activities at the time of elections within the party. “The TRS chief is personally monitoring the performance of each MLA and the party leader and in every constituency. This time he will be more cautious in the finalisation of party candidates in the elections aiming to win majority MLA and MP seats,” a senior leader said on condition of anonymity.

KCR will also ascertain the winning prospects of ‘turncoat’ MLAs from Congress, TDP and YSRCP. More than 20 MLAs from different parties shifted loyalties to TRS increasing the ruling party’s tally from 63 to 82 in the Assembly after the KCR assumed CM office. “KCR decided to give party tickets only to those who will win the elections,” he said.

The CM will give a clarity whether the party is willing to give party ticket to the defected MLAs or not in the meeting, the source said.