A hasty reaction from a Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLA even before the party president K Chandrasekhar Rao announced the list of candidates is turning out to be very costly for him.
He is none other than sitting BRS MLA rom Malkajgiri assembly constituency Mynampalli Hanumantha Rao.
For quite some time, he had been lobbying for the BRS ticket to his son M Rohit from Medak assembly seat in place of sitting MLA Padma Devender Reddy.
However, Mynampalli’s attempts did not succeed, as KCR’s nephew and state finance ministe T Harish Rao, who was using his clout to see that Padma Devender Reddy is retained from Medak.
Frustrated with the attempts, Mynampalli took a dig at KCR and his family members, especially T Harish Rao, while speaking to the reporters at Tirumala on Monday morning.
“The party should give the tickets to both me and my son at any cost. If they give, they should give for both; or nobody. When KCR’s family can get three tickets, why cannot we get two tickets for my family?” he asked.
There was also a talk that Mynampalli and Rohit would join the Congress if they won’t get the party tickets. But to their surprise, KCR announced Mynampalli’s name for Malkajgiri seat, but denied the ticket to his son.
When his comments were brought to the notice of the chief minister, he said: “We have given the ticket to Hanumantha Rao and it is for him whether he will accept or reject it.”
But Mynampalli’s outburst angered KTR, who is presently in the US.
“One of our MLAs who was denied a ticket to his family member, in an outburst, made some derogatory comments on minister Harish Rao garu. I not only strongly condemn the MLA’s behaviour, but also want to make it clear that we all stand by Harish Rao,” he tweeted.
The BRS working president further said Harish Rao had been an integral founding member of the BRS since its inception and would continue to remain an important pillar of the party as it moved forward.
Though Mynampalli later said he would stand by the party decision to deny ticket to his son, it was too late for him. Sources said KCR might drop Mynampalli from the list in a day or two.
KTR admitted that some deserving candidates could not be accommodated for various reasons.
“Disappointments are to be taken in stride in public life. Unfortunately, some very deserving, capable leaders and a few others could not be accommodated. Will ensure those who have been denied an opportunity to contest get their chance in another form to serve the people,” he tweeted.