The decision of Bharat Rashtra Samithi president and Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to contest from two assembly constituencies – his present constituency Gajwel in Siddipet district and Kamareddy constituency in Kamareddy district – has surprised many.
Till the chief minister announced the list, nobody, including his own BRS leaders, were aware that he would contest from two seats.
Of course, there was a talk that KCR would shift from Gajwel to either Kamareddy or Peddapalli, but nobody expected that he would retain the Gajwel constituency as well.
At one stage, there was also a talk that KCR might not contest the assembly elections and leave the battle to his son K T Rama Rao. Since he has chosen to fight the national battle, he might contest the Lok Sabha elections directly.
But that did not happen and KCR chose to contest for two seats, instead of only Gajwel. It was an enigma even for those who know KCR from close quarters and watched his shrewdness in politics.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president A Revanth Reddy said the fact that KCR is contesting two seats indicates that he is not confident of winning his own seat in Gajwel.
“So, he is playing a gamble by deciding to contest from Kamareddy as well,” he said.
Apparently, KCR has got the intelligence reports that all is not well with the BRS in the erstwhile combined Nizamabad district and adjoining Medak district.
He initially thought of fielding his daughter Kalvakuntla Kavitha from Kamareddy or Nizamabad, but if by any chance she loses the seat, it would be a big blow to the party.
So, KCR himself wants to take the risk and hence, has decided to contest from Kamareddy. It would definitely boost the prospects of the party in all the adjoining constituencies as well and might fetch victory to the BRS in a big way.
“After he gets elected from Kamareddy and Gajwel, he might retain either of it, most probably Gajwel. Then, he can leave the field in Kamareddy to his daughter at a later date. That appears to be the strategy,” a party source said.