After hectic deliberations, the Congress released its first list of 65 candidates for the December 7 assembly elections in Telangana late on Monday.
The Congress, which formed a Maha Kootami or grand alliance with three other parties – the Telugu Desam Party, the Telangana Jana Samithi and the Communist Party of India, is contesting in 94 out of 119 assembly constituencies in the state, leaving the remaining 25 to the allies.
State Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy, working presidents Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and A Revanth Reddy and most of the former ministers from Telangana in the previous Congress governments found place in the first list.
However, former state president Ponnala Lakshmaiah was denied the ticket, as his constituency Jangaon was allotted to the Telangana Jana Samithi as part of seat adjustments in the grand alliance.
The list also includes those who had defected from other parties like Revanth Reddy from Kodangal and Vanteru Pratap Reddy from Gajwel (both from the TDP), Nagam Janardhan Reddy from Nagarkurnool (from the Bharatiya Janata Party), and Konda Surekha from Parkal (from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi).
Interestingly, the party made two exemptions from the one-family-one ticket rule. Uttam Kumar Reddy’s wife Padmavathi has been retained from Kodad assembly constituency, while Venkat Reddy’s brother and former MP Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy was given the ticket from Munugode assembly constituency.