BJP names likely in early September

The BJP is in no hurry to declare its candidates for the upcoming Telangana state Assembly elections, according to its state president G. Kishan Reddy.

Kishan Reddy, when questioned, restricted himself to saying: "He (KCR) started the game. And he will see how we will play."

Asked if the BJP had in mind candidates to take on Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao in both Gajwel and Kamareddy, the two constituencies from where the BRS president will be contesting, Kishan Reddy said, "We will put appropriate candidates against KCR."

The BJP is expected not to face a shortage of leaders willing to contest against the Chief Minister, with its Huzurabad MLA Etala Rajender already challenging Chandrashekar Rao to an electoral battle in Gajwel.

Meanwhile, it is reliably learnt that vetting of potential candidates is at an advanced stage and it



is likely that the BJP will start announcing names in the first week of September.

"Discussions are going on and potential names will also be discussed when Union minister Amit Shah comes to Hyderabad on August 27 for his public meeting in Khammam," a senior party leader, on deputation to the state to help the BJP gear up for the polls, said on Monday.

Even as ticket hopefuls are reaching out to the state and national leaders, the BJP on Monday held a day-long meeting of its various morchas to drill into their members the need to garner support for the party, irrespective of the candidates.

The meeting was addressed, among others, by BJP national general secretaries Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Tarun Chugh, party national vice-president D.K. Aruna, state chief Kishan Reddy, and Rajya Sabha member Dr K. Laxman.