HYDERABAD: The election process picked up momentum in the two Telugu states with several candidates filing their nominations on Friday. With Saturday and Sunday being holidays, the candidates will have only Monday to file their papers as nominations end on March 25.
As per the Telugu calendar, being Phalguna Bahula Vidiya, Friday was the most auspicious day. This was the reason for the large number of candidates to file nominations, said sources.
In
Telangana, those who filed their nomination included TRS candidates K Kavitha (Nizamabad) N Venkatesh (Peddapalli), BB Patil (Zaheerabad), K Prabhakar Reddy (Medak) G Ranjit Reddy (Chevella), M Srinivas Reddy (
Mahabubnagar
), P Ramulu (Nagarkurnool) and B Narsaiah Goud (Bhongir). Congress candidates Konda Vishweshwar Reddy (Chevella), Uttam Kumar Reddy (Nalgonda) and A Revanth Reddy (Malkajgiri) also filed their papers.
For 17 Lok Sabha seats in state, 220 nominations were filedFrom the BJP, G Kishan Reddy (
Secunderabad
), Bangaru Shruthi (Nagarkurnool), G Jitendra Kumar (Nalgonda) and Dharmapuri Aravind (Nizamabad) have filed their nominations.
Including independents, a total of 220 nominations were filed for the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana.
Except for the Congress, which is still to announce its candidate for the Khammam seat, all the other major parties have announced nominees for all the seats.
The Telangana Telugu Desam Party is also likely to contest from four seats and is in talks with the Congress for a tie-up in the other seats.
Among the bigwigs who filed their nominations from neighbouring
Andhra Pradesh were chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu (Kuppam), Nara Lokesh (Mangalagiri), Balakrishna (Hindupur), YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy (Pulivendula), P Narayana (Nellore) and Pawan Kalyan (Bhimavaram & Gajuwaka).
Among the others who filed their nominations from Andhra Pradesh were VV Lakshminarayana (Vizag Lok Sabha), Kishore Chandra Deo (Araku LS), Goddedu Madhavi (Araku LS from YSRCP), MVV Satyanarayana (Vizag LS), Dronamraju Srinivaa (Vizag South assembly) and K Rammohan Naidu (Srikakulam LS).