After dillydallying in the matter of selection of candidates for Khammam, Karimnagar and Hyderabad Parliament seats, the Congress Central Election Commission released the names, more or less on expected lines.
Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy, son of Congress stalwart Ramasahayam Surender Reddy, has been fielded from Khammam seat, which was in huge demand. Karimnagar will see Velichala Rajender Rao taking on BJP’s Bandi Sanjay and BRS party’s Boinapally Vinod Kumar. Mohd. Sameer Waliullah will take on AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi in the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat. Mr. Waliullah, who is the minority wing chairman of the Hyderabad Congress Committee, was expecting the nomination.
Interestingly, both Mr. Raghuram Reddy and Mr. Rajender Rao have already filed nominations, apparently after the high command indicated them to do so despite holding back their names till Wednesday. Mr. Raghuram Reddy should consider himself lucky as the Khammam seat saw intense competition with Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka lobbying for his wife Nandita, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy pitching for his brother Prasad Reddy and also Agriculture Minister seeking the ticket for his son Yugandhar.
The Khammam seat issue also reached Bengaluru for the assistance of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge. Mr. Raghuram Reddy emerged as the compromise candidate and also given his father Ramasahayam Surender Reddy’s contribution to the party. He won from the Mahabubabad Parliament constituency four times, apart from winning as MLA multiple times over a career of 50 years though he has been politically dormant for the last 15 years.
Mr. Surender Reddy was instrumental in bringing Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy into Congress from the BRS a few months before the election and almost Congress capturing the erstwhile Khammam district in the last elections. Moreover, Mr. Raghuram Reddy is also closely related to the Minister Mr. Srinivas Reddy.
The Karimnagar seat was tossed between Praveen Reddy and Velichala Rajender Rao. Mr. Praveen Reddy had to sacrifice the Husnabad seat to Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar before the Assembly polls and was promised a Parliament seat. But with a Reddy candidate picked up for Khammam, it was natural that Karimnagar seat would go to a non-Reddy. Mr. Rajender Rao is from the Velama community that is politically strong in Karimnagar district.
Congress also cleared the name of Naveen alias Teenmaar Mallanna as candidate for the byelection to the Legislative Council from Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda Graduates’ Constituency.
