K Chandrasekhar Rao to re-contest from Karimnagar

Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao will seek re-election to Lok Sabha from Karimnagar constituency in the forthcoming bypoll.

The TRS chief had quit his Lok Sabha seat on September 23 after resigning from the Manmohan Singh Cabinet on August 22 in protest against the failure of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government to announce a time-table for the creation of separate Telangana state. He had also informed President A P J Abdul Kalam about the withdrawal of TRS from the UPA on September 23.

At an extended meeting of state executive and party members of Parliament and legislators in Hyderabad on Wednesday, the TRS unanimously decided on the candidature of KCR for the Karimnagar bypoll. His name was proposed by party MP A Narendra, MLA E Rajender and party functionary K Yadagiri.

The party has, thus, cleared the air on the issue, in the wake of reports that the TRS boss was having second thoughts on seeking re-election and that he wanted to field party ideologue Prof K Jayashankar in the bypoll.

The TRS has claimed that the forthcoming Karimnagar bypoll would be a 'referendum' on the separate Telangana demand. Other parties -- Congress, Telugu Desam Party, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India-Marxist, have rejected the TRS contention.

The Congress, Telugu Desam and Bharatiya Janata Party have announced that they would be contesting the Karimnagar byelection.

BJP has already finalised the candidature of former Union minister of state and two-time MP Ch Vidyasagar Rao in Karimnagar.

The Congress has indicated that its candidate would be T Jeevan Reddy, party MLA from Jagtial. TDP is likely to field former MP L Ramana.

Apart from Karimnagar, the Lok Sabha bypoll is due in Bobbili constituency in Vizianagaram district in the state.

The vacancy had occurred due to the demise of sitting TDP MP Kondapalli Pydithalli Naidu on August 19, 2006.

Though the Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for Lok Sabha bypoll in Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh on October 30 and Bhagalpur and Nalanda in Bihar and Koderma in Jharkhand on November 11, there are indications that the bypolls in Bobbili and Karimnagar may be held sometime during February 2007.

In the four constituencies in other states, the vacancies had occurred during May 2006.

Since the first vacancy in the state -- that is, Bobbili -- has occurred during August, there is time till February 18, 2007, as per the stipulation for filling up the vacancy within six months.

Karimnagar bypoll will have to be clubbed with Bobbili though the vacancy had occurred only during September.

For KCR, seeking re-election after resigning the seat is nothing new. In April 2001, he had quit the Assembly, after resigning from the deputy speaker's post and the primary membership of Telugu Desam.

Soon after, he formed the TRS and contested the bypoll in his home constituency -- Siddipet -- and was elected with a thumping majority.