Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday night released its first list of 38 candidates for the ensuing elections to the Telangana assembly.
All the sitting members of the party in the recently dissolved state assembly have been retained in the first list, contrary to the earlier reports that at least two of them would be dropped. BJP central election committee secretary and Union health minister J P Nadda released the first list in New Delhi.
The five sitting members who will be contesting the elections again are: Dr K Laxman (Musheerabad), G Kishan Reddy (Amberpet), N V V S Prabhakar (Uppal), Ch Ramachandra Reddy (Khairatabad) and T Raja Singh (Goshamahal). The list includes three women, three SC and six ST members.
There were reports earlier that the BJP might drop loud-mouthed and controversial leader T Raja Singh from Goshamahal and Chintala Ramachandra Reddy from Khairatabad might be dropped. But, the high command decided against making any changes for now.
Interestingly, sitting member of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi Babu Mohan, who defected into the BJP recently after he was denied ticket by the TRS leadership, has been given the BJP ticket from the same Andole constituency which he represented.
Popular Hindu seer of Sree Peetham Swamy Paripoornananda, who joined the BJP on Friday, did not find a place in the first list.