Hyderabad : In a significant development ahead of the November 30 elections to the Telangana Assembly, a staggering 4,798 candidates have officially thrown their hats into the ring. The last day for filing nominations saw a rush, with nearly half of the candidates—2,324, to be precise—submitting their papers in all 119 Assembly constituencies.

Since November 3, a total of 5,716 sets of nominations have been received by electoral officers. Notably, a majority of these candidates are running as independents. Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj reported that scrutiny of the nominations is scheduled for November 13, and candidates have until November 15 to withdraw their nominations.

The constituency with the highest number of candidates vying for a seat is Gajwel, where Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao seeks re-election for a third consecutive term. A whopping 145 candidates have filed nominations in Gajwel, making it a closely watched battleground. In this constituency, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president faces competition from BJP’s Eatala Rajender, also contesting from Huzurabad.

Chief Minister KCR is expanding his electoral presence by also contesting from Kamareddy, where a total of 92 candidates have filed nominations. The race in Kamareddy is heightened by the presence of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A. Revanth Reddy.

Medchal, where Labour Minister Malla Reddy is contesting as a BRS candidate, saw 116 candidates filing their papers. However, Narayanpet constituency in Mahabubnagar district witnessed a relatively low participation with only 13 candidates in the fray. Similarly, Wyra (ST) in Khammam and Makthal in Narayanpet districts saw 19 candidates each filing their nominations.

As the electoral landscape unfolds, the scrutiny on November 13 and subsequent withdrawals by November 15 will determine the final list of candidates for the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections.

HYDERABAD: Palwai Sravanthi, a prominent Congress leader and spokesperson from Telangana, officially joined the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on Sunday, following her resignation from the Congress party. Sravanthi’s departure from Congress came after being denied a ticket to contest in the upcoming Assembly elections.

BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao welcomed Sravanthi into the party at a ceremony held at the BRS headquarters, Telangana Bhavan.

Expressing her sentiments, Sravanthi, the daughter of senior Congress leader Palwai Goverdhan Reddy, mentioned that leaving the Congress was a difficult decision. However, she recalled her late father’s advice that one should not stay where they do not receive respect.

Sravanthi had previously contested as the Congress candidate from Munugode constituency in a by-election last year. This by-election was triggered by the resignation of sitting MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, who later contested as a BJP candidate and lost to the BRS candidate.

In her letter to Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Sravanthi criticized the party’s direction, particularly highlighting concerns about the impact of importing Revanth Reddy into the party on its values and principles.

K. Prabhakar Reddy, the BRS candidate who won the bypoll, was present during Sravanthi’s induction into the party. KTR expressed regret over the Congress’s failure to accord due respect to Sravanthi, considering her father’s long-standing service to the party, dating back to the times of Jawaharlal Nehru.

KTR also raised questions about the reasons behind Rajagopal Reddy’s departure from Congress, joining the BJP, triggering the by-election, and subsequently returning to the Congress party.