HYDERABAD: The BRS on Saturday declared that its MLA from Secunderabad, T Padma Rao Goud, will be its candidate for the coming Lok Sabha elections.Padma Rao’s candidature was announced by BRS president K Chandrashekar Rao, who described Padma Rao as a “loyal senior party leader who has been with the BRS since the inception of the party.” The decision to pick Padma Rao as the candidate was taken after discussions with senior BRS leaders, and party MLAs, according to a press release from the party.Chandrashekar Rao making it a point to mention Padma Rao’s loyalty to the party assumes significance as the now BRS MLA, will be taking on another MLA Danam Nagender who won last Assembly elections from Khairtabad on a BRS ticket but switched loyalty to the Congress party recently. Soon after, he was nominated as the Congress candidate from Secunderabad for the Lok Sabha polls. Nagender’s shift to Congress has been called an act of betrayal by the BRS party which has also sought his disqualification as an MLA for switching party loyalties.With BRS announcing its candidate from Secunderabad, the primary line-up of three major parties, Congress, BJP, and the BRS, is complete, with the BJP fielding its sitting MP and Union Minister and state party president G Kishan Reddy from the constituency. With these three candidates to be in the fray, this time around, Secunderabad is all set to witness a contest between a sitting MP, and two sitting MLAs.The BRS has so far announced 13 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls and is yet to name its contestants from Hyderabad, Bhongir, Nalgonda, and Peddapalli constituencies.
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