Manne Krishank, a member of the Indian National Congress (INC,) on the 18th of March, resigned from the Party and joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS.)
Manne Krishank, a Dalit leader of the INC unit in Telangana, on the 18th of March, met K.T. Rama Rao (KTR,) the Working President of the TRS, and joined the Party.
Krishank, who was promised a ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Peddapalli, was denied a ticket by the INC. Disappointed with the INC unit in Telangana, Krishank burned and destroyed campaign materials worth Rs. 15 lakhs and resigned from the Party.
Speaking to the media, Manne said, “I was assured of the party ticket from Peddapalli, which has been reserved for SC (Scheduled Caste). I have spent huge money on procuring publicity material for the campaign in the elections. But shockingly, the party has announced the name of A. Chandrasekhar for the seat (sic.)”
Manne further said, though Chandrasekhar was suspended from the Party as he contested the 2018 Telangana Assembly elections in the Vikarabad constituency as a rebel, the Party gave him a ticket to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.
Manne also spoke about how he has been struggling since 2014 to get a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections. He was arrested several times and was involved in several cases.
Krishank alleged the INC members in Telangana of being money minded and selfish. He said, “During the recent assembly elections, I was given the ticket from Secunderabad Cantonment constituency, but at the last moment, I was dropped and the ticket was given to my father in law.”
The INC is already faced with the issue of having less Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in the State, which may result in the Party losing the status of being an opposition party in the State.
The INC needs a minimum of 12 MLAs to maintain the status of the opposition party.
On the other hand, with the addition of new members, the TRS stands as a strong Party in Telangana in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Telangana will contest a total of 17 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, scheduled on the 11th of April 2019.
The major parties contesting are the INC, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the TRS.
Stay tuned for further updates about the Lok Sabha elections.
