Nagam to support TRS in MLC elections

Telangana Nagara Samithi president and Nagarkurnool MLA Nagam Janardhan Reddy on Friday announced that he would support the TRS candidate Mohammad Mahmoood Ali in the MLC elections.

It may be mentioned that Mahmood Ali has already filed his nomination for the MLC post on Thursday. However, the TRS has 17 members in the house and needs the support of 12 members to gain a seat in the Upper House. TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao had earlier announced that he would seek support from pro-Telangana MLAs to ensure Mahmood Ali's victory.

Ensuring Mahmood Ali's victory has become a matter of prestige for the TRS chief to prove that he was pro-minorities. The party faced criticism when its candidate Ibrahim lost by-elections from Mahaboobnagar constituency. Although the party won from other seats, its lone candidate from the minority community lost to the BJP. It was alleged that the TRS did not make serious efforts to ensure Ibrahim's victory while the Telangana Political Joint Action Committee too remained neutral.

Following past experience, KCR nominated Mahmood Ali, a Muslim candidate, to prove that his party was secular. However, ensuring his victory would be a challenging task for the TRS chief.