Telangana to vote on 7 December: 1,821 candidates in fray for Assembly polls; TRS fields nominees in all 119 constituencies

Hyderabad: As many as 1,821 candidates are left in the fray for 119 constituencies in the 7 December Telangana Assembly polls, the state election commission said on Monday. The commission is coming out with the official figure Monday after withdrawal of nominations ended on 22 November. [caption id=“attachment_1551875” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of K Chandrasekhar Rao. AFP[/caption] According to an official release, 1,762 nominations were either rejected or withdrawn. Election officials had Thursday said the final number of candidates left in the fray would be known after receipt of information from the constituencies. Malkajgiri segment leads with 42 contestants including independents followed by 35 each in Uppal and LB Nagar constituencies. Telangana Rashtra Samithi, which is going it alone, has fielded candidates in all the 119 Assembly segments. The Congress, which is leading the ‘grand alliance’, has fielded 99 candidates while its other partners-Telugu Desam Party 13 and CPI three. Its other ally, Telangana Jana Samithi has given ‘B-Forms’ for eight candidates. B-Form for elections is proof that a particular candidate is put up by a political party. According to the original seat-sharing agreement, the Congress was supposed to contest in 94 seats, TDP (14) CPI (3) and TJS eight. The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded 118 candidates. Caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is seeking re-election from Gajwel constituency. Telangana Congress president Uttam Kumar Reddy is contesting from Huzurnagar, while BJP Telangana chief K Laxman from Musheerabad. CPI’s Telangana unit secretary Chada Venkat Reddy is contesting from Husnabad. Campaigning will reach a crescendo on Tuesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to address two election rallies in Telangana on Tuesday as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign for the Assembly election. Party chief Amit Shah had on Sunday undertook a whirlwind tour of Telangana and addressed four public meetings. He will again address meetings on Wednesday and Sunday. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi undertook to campaign for the Congress party on 23 November. The ruling TRS is already into hectic campaigning with its president and caretaker chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and other leaders addressing a series of rallies. Counting of votes will take place on 11 December.