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Resentment brews in Congress over list of Telangana candidates
Former MLA Thati Venkateshwarlu, who aspired for the party ticket from Aswaraopet in Bhadradri Kothagudem district, resigned from the primary membership of the party
Disgruntlement is brewing within the Congress in Telangana over the announcement of some of the candidates for the assembly elections in the state scheduled to be held on November 30.
Former minister and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) senior vice president Sambhani Chandrasekhar raised a banner of revolt against the party for being denied the party ticket from Sattupalli in Khammam district. The ticket was given to a newcomer Matta Ragamayi.
Another TPCC general secretary K Manavatha Roy, a strong student leader from Osmania University, who also aspired for the ticket from the same Sattupalli constituency, resigned from his party post on Wednesday. He threatened to file the nomination as a rebel candidate.
Former MLA Thati Venkateshwarlu, who aspired for the party ticket from Aswaraopet in Bhadradri Kothagudem district, resigned from the primary membership of the party.
Followers of former minister G Chinna Reddy from Wanaparthy staged a dharna at Gandhi Bhavan, the PCC headquarters on Tuesday, in protest against the party high command’s decision to withdraw the ticket given to him earlier and giving the same to another new comer Tudi Megha Reddy.
Similarly, the party’s decision to replace its Boath candidate Vannela Ashok with another newcomer Ade Gajender evoked strong protests in the party. While Ashok hails from Adivasi community, Gajende is from Lambada community. Members of Tudum Debba, a tribal rights organisation, burnt an effigy of PCC president A Revanth Reddy in protest in Adilabad town on Tuesday.
The announcement of Neelam Madhu, a defector from the BRS, as the candidate for Patancheru assembly constituency, also triggered unrest in the party. While former deputy chief minister Damodar Rajanarasimha threatened to quit the party if his follower Kata Srinivas Goud is not given the ticket from Patancheru, another Congress MLA from Sangareddy T Jayaprakash Reddy insisted that Madhu should be retained as the candidate.
On Wednesday, Madhu came to Gandhi Bhavan to take the formal “B” form (an authentication signed by the party chief declaring him as the party candidate), but he was told that there were no instructions from the high command yet. Madhu walked out in a huff.
In Kodangal, Congress leader Bellaiah Naik has threatened to sit on an indefinite hunger strike at Gandhi Bhavan if he is not allowed to contest instead of Revanth Reddy.
