Sanga Reddy: Party hopping (no pun intended) seems to be the order of the day in the current political scenario in Telangana. The dissolution of the state assembly by caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) and the elections getting advanced to December 7th, has led to many leaders changing loyalties from one party to another.

Of the 119 constituencies, KCR announced the names of 105 candidates on September 6 and is yet to announce the names for the other 14 seats. With KCR ruffling a few feathers by not proposing some names has led to the odd set of leaders leaving the party and joining other parties ( Babu Mohan , Konda Surekha etc., Vinod, Vivek). Currently there is intense lobbying for the remaining seats and we need to wait and watch after the Dussehra festivities get over as to who they will be.

Meanwhile in the Patancheru assembly constituency, the scenario appears a bit hazy. With Ex MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy contesting on a TRS ticket again, he has started campaigning aggressively there. But the alliance is still in the early phase of selecting their candidates. Mahipal Reddy as of now has an edge over the rest.

TRS state secretary, Sapan Dev who tried contesting in the 2009 and 2014 elections on a TDP ticket, joined TRS now. But upon being denied a ticket this time he has left TRS and joined the Congress Party. TRS Convener Gali Anil Kumar who worked with TRS from its inception has also joined the Congress.

Kolan Bal Reddy who was the Jinnaram ZPTC member and also as MPP, joined the TRS after the 2014 elections. He has also defected to Congress again.

J Ramulu who left the TDP and contested on Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam ticket from the Patancheru assembly constituency has joined the Congress .

Former MLA Nandiswar Goud who was with Congress in 2009 and 2014 elections later joined the BJP. Now with the TDP as part of the Grand Alliance, he is expecting a ticket from the TDP.

Another former MLA K Satyanarayana who was with BJP for many decades has shifted loyalties to TRS just two days ago. The list of party defectors could increase by the time the final list of candidates is released before elections.

Senior leaders have been jumping parties from the TRS to the Congress, BJP and the TDP in many constituencies and clarity could be arrived upon only before the day of elections. This also depends when the Grand Alliance announces it nomination and we could see more of this happening.

From the Congress, Kata Srinivas Gowd, Sasikala Yadavareddi, Sapdev, Gali Anil Kumar, Shankar Yadav, Prabhakar, Basetty Ashok, Kolon Balletdi, J.Ramulu and Godavari Anjareddi are vying for the Patancheru ticket.

There are reports that two leaders from the Congress who are in the race to test the fortunes will join the BJP if their ticket is denied.

Seven leaders, including Adelli Ravinder, Satish Goud, Gali Giri and Gidde Raju, have written a joint letter to the BJP, requesting to give any one of them a chance to contest without experimenting with other people who have joined the BJP.

Also Read:KCR On Top Of Poll Strategy As TRS Aims For Congress Veterans