REPORTERS’ DIARY : Twists and turns in politics

In politics, anything can happen when it comes to seat allotment, which is often linked to seat sharing. Aspirants with impeccable credentials may be denied tickets, while those who are yet to join a party may be fielded incredibly as its candidate. In the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, TDP supremo sprang surprises in respect of selection of candidates for his party as well as allies. YSRCP Penamalur MLA K Pardha Saradhi, without even joining TDP, got ticket from it to contest from the Nuziveedu Assembly seat. Nuziveedu party leaders and cadre in both parties are dismayed. Another such shock pertains to the Bapatla Lok Sabha seat. Telangana former DGP T Krishna Prasad, Telangana BJP unit’s ex-spokes person, was crest-fallen, having tried in vain to get BJP ticket from Hyderabad district in the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections. But luck smiled on him within months with the TDP announcing Krishna Prasad as its Lok Sabha candidate from the Bapatla seat. None in TDP or BJP expected this.