Deadline for withdrawal of nominations ends campaigns set to intensify in Telangana

Hyderabad: The stage is set for the May 13 Lok Sabha polls in Telangana as the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Monday, and political parties preparing ground for election campaigning to intensify across the state.

Nominations were accepted from April 18 to 25 and scrutinised on April 26.

Telangana has 17 Lok Sabha seats. The election authorities are expected to release the final list of contestants on Monday night. As many as 1,060 nominations filed by 625 candidates were found to be valid after scrutiny of the total 1,488 papers received for the polls in Telangana.

After the scrutiny on Friday, 428 nominations were rejected, a communication from Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj said on April 27. Telangana BJP chief and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, the party’s National General Secretary Bandi Sanjay Kumar and senior leader Etala Rajender are among the saffron party candidates while the Congress fielded, among others, BRS turncoats Danam Nagender and K Kavya.

AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi is seeking re-election from the party’s bastion of Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency and the BJP has fielded K Madhavi Latha to take him on. Former IPS officer R S Praveen Kumar and current MP Nama Nageswar Rao, among others, are in the poll fray from former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led BRS.

As the deadline for withdrawal of nominations has passed, it is expected that political parties will ramp up their campaign efforts, as the run-up to the election is crucial for them to make their final pitches to voters and garner support. An increase in rallies, advertisements, and other campaign activities is expected as parties vie for votes and try to sway undecided voters in their favour.

BJP National President J P Nadda addressed a couple of rallies on Monday and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing poll rallies on Tuesday, even as several senior leaders of the saffron party including Rajnath Singh have addressed campaigns in the state.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi kickstarted the grand old party’s election meetings in the state on April 6 and is expected to return, along with other star campaigners, for more meetings in the state. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has been campaigning for Congress candidates, riding on the momentum of the recent win in the Telangana assembly elections.

Although down but not out since the poor show at the assembly polls, BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao has also been touring the state ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, hoping to salvage some support for his party.