Telugu Non-resident Indians who have made a considerable fortune abroad are queuing up at political parties’ offices in Telangana for Lok Sabha tickets. Telangana Rashtra Samithi, along with Congress, TJS and TDP are receiving quite a number of requests from NRIs who are interested to contest for Lok Sabha seats.
While political parties have still not finalized their candidates for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, NRIs are trying their best to influence and lobby with these parties. Political parties believe that NRIs can mobilize their own resources with their contacts, rather than rely on parties for help and mobilization.
What is interesting is that some of these entrepreneurs had already contested during the Telangana Assembly elections, but lost to their opponents in Huzurnagar and Wardhannapet. Adding to this is a list of NRIs who have been spending funds for development of their own villages. There are several NRIs who are funding schools and education of underprivileged students, toilets in villages, construction of village infrastructure and other basic facilities. They believe their service deserves to be recognized and hence, are confident that they can run for the Lok Sabha seat.
However, there are only 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, which doesn’t give them much of a choice. Apart from this, heavy lobbying within existing party cadre and senior leaders are something that political parties face pressure from already. Considering these factors, NRIs may have bleak chances. But, their entry into the political system is definitely a good sign as some of them already have a track record of doing social service, which brings them closer to their people.
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