Selection of candidates for the two Rajya Sabha seats in the Telugu Desam is proving to be a big headache for party president N. Chandrababu Naidu. With the party agog with rumours that the name of industrialist C.M. Ramesh for one of the two seats has been cleared, some contenders have started giving signals of their rebellious mood. In fact, some in the party are at each other's throat for the ticket.
If Mr Ramesh is indeed chosen, he would be the second industrialist in recent past (after Sujana Choudhry) to represent the party in the RS. The TD can bag two RS seats and Mr Naidu may opt for one candidate each from Seemandhra and Telangana regions to balance the political equation.
“Mr Naidu should prefer loyal party leaders than people with money bags. We stood by the party through thick and thin. The party chief should change his mindset,” a senior party leader and aspirant remarked. The contenders include sitting member M.V. Mysoora Reddy, Y. Ramakrishnudu, T. Devender Goud Arvind Kumar Goud, T. Srinivas Yadav, Mohd. Saleem, Zahid Ali Khan, B. Narasimhulu, K. Yerrannaidu, Lal Jan Basha, Varla Ramaiah, Garkapati Mohan Rao and K. Rama Mohan Rao.