With just two weeks left for the campaign coming to an end in the Telangana assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party received yet another major setback with former Karimnagar zilla parishad chairperson Tula Uma quitting the party.
Uma, who had been a close follower of former minister and BJP leader Eatala Rajender, is all set to return to her parent party – the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) – on Monday evening in the presence of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
The senior BJP leader was selected as the party candidate for Vemulawada assembly constituency in the coming elections, but hours before she filed her nomination, the party dropped her and replaced her with Ch Vikas Rao, son of former Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao.
The last-minute decision of the BJP of replacing her came as a shocker to Uma and her followers. She was in her tears on Sunday and warned the BJP leaders that they would get her “chappal” treatment if they tried to contact her.
Uma, who played a major role in the Telangana movement, is a very popular figure in Karimnagar politics. She was an active member of the BRS and was known for her loyalty to Eatala Rajender.
When Rajender was sacked from the BRS in 2021 and contested again from his Huzurabad assembly seat, Uma, too, came out of the BRS and joined the BJP. She campaigned for him. Since then, she has been attacking the BRS and campaigning for the BJP.
Rajender used all his influence to get her the party ticket from Vemulawada, but party president G Kishan Reddy lobbied for a newcomer like Ch Vikas and successfully managed to get Uma replaced by Vikas.