Telangana elections 2018: BJP’s manifesto in one week’s time

Hyderabad, Oct 18: The BJP plans to release in less than a week its election manifesto and first list of candidates for the December 7 assembly elections in Telangana.

BJP sources said the party's national leaders were expected to hit the campaign trail in last week of this month.

"Our manifesto is under works. We will be formally releasing it in about three to four days", Telangana BJP spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao told PTI.

The party expected to release its list of candidates for the 119-member Assembly elections in two phases -- the first by October 21 and the second one a week thereafter, he said.

BJP is going it alone in the elections. In the 2014 poll, it had bagged five seats in alliance with the TDP, which won in 15 constituencies.

This time, TDP, Congress, CPI and Telangana Jana Samiti have announced they would be forging an electoral alliance.

The TRS has stolen the march over other parties in releasing its list of candidates and election manifesto.

Caretaker Chief Minister and TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao unveiled the list of 105 candidates within hours of the assembly being dissolved on September 6, stunning the opposition. The ruling party came out with a partial manifesto Tuesday.

AICC In-charge of Telangana R C Khuntia said the Congress manifesto was in final stage of preparation and would be released soon after its approval by the party's central manifesto committee.

He said the electoral alliance with the TDP, CPI and TJS would continue for the next Lok Sabha elections as well.

On selection of candidates, Khuntia said the Congress has a process that has to be followed in any election.

"KCR (as Chandrasekhar Rao is popularly known) is a private entrepreneur who picks candidates along with his son (K T Rama Rao), daughter (K Kavitha) and nephew (T Harish Rao) without any democratic process or discussion", he alleged.

Rama Rao and Harish Rao, both ministers, were members in the dissolved Telangana Assembly, while Kavitha is Lok Sabha member from Nizamabad.

The list of Congress candidates would be finalised soon, as also seat-sharing formula with the TDP, CPI and TJS, Khuntia added.