Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

BJP MLA follows party diktat

Special Correspondent

Dora Babu votes for TRS in the Legislative Council election

NEW EQUATIONS: G. Kishan Reddy and Dora Babu, both of the BJP, with G. Vijayarama Rao, TRS floor leader, after casting the vote in the Assembly on Thursday.

HYDERABAD: BJP MLA P. Dora Babu on Thursday put at rest speculation that he might vote for an independent candidate Kasani Gyaneshwar in the Legislative Council election by walking into the Assembly along with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti legislators and saying he had voted for them.

The Pithapuram MLA, who had signed the nomination paper of the independent candidate, came to the polling booth along with his party's leader G. Kishan Reddy and TRS MLAs. Mr. Dora Babu's decision came as a big relief to the TRS, which was banking on the support of the two BJP MLAs to scrape through.

Speaking to reporters after casting his vote, Mr. Dora Babu said he had abided by the party direction to support for the TRS candidate.

"I voted for the official TRS candidate on BJP president Bandaru Dattatreya's direction," he said.

No instruction

Asked why he had signed the nomination papers of Mr. Gyaneshwar, he said he had done so as there was no instruction from the party leadership on whom to support.

Earlier, the two BJP legislators attended a breakfast meeting at the residence of TRS president K. Chandrasekhara Rao.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu