Tickets to turncoats cause heartburn among Congress loyalists in Telangana

Hyderabad, Oct 17:  Allotment of tickets for next month’s Assembly elections in Telangana to those who recently switched loyalties to the Congress from other parties, has led to heartburn among seniors and loyalists in the undivided Mahbubnagar district.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Secretary Ajay Kumar, who was denied a ticket from Gadwal, has raised a banner of revolt, former minister N Janardhan Reddy, who was expecting a ticket from Nagarkurnool constituency, has slammed the state leadership while Chintapalli Jagadeeshwar Rao, who was denied a ticket from Kollapur, has hinted that he will enter the fray as a rebel.

Out of 14 seats in undivided Mahbubnagar district, the Congress party has announced candidates for eight seats.

In four constituencies, it has fielded leaders who had joined the party recently after defecting from other parties.

In Kollapur constituency, the Congress has fielded former minister Jupally Krishna Rao, who had joined the party recently after resigning from the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

This has angered constituency incharge Chintapalli Jagadeeshwar Rao. He held a meeting with supporters and declared that he will contest the election. It is not clear if he will enter the fray as an independent or contest on the ticket of some other party.

Janardhan Reddy, who was expecting a ticket from Nagarkurnool constituency, has lashed out at Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President A Revanth Reddy and the party’s decision to give tickets to turncoats while ignoring those who have been serving the party for years.

The former minister said he would decide the future course of action after consulting his followers. He also declared his support to J Reddy to defeat Krishna Rao. Janardhan Reddy called Krishna Rao and former Khammam MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy as opportunists.

“I want to ask them if they would have joined the Congress party if the party had been defeated in Karnataka elections,” he said.

The party has fielded K. Rajesh Reddy from Nagarkurnool. Rajesh, son of BRS MLC Damodar Reddy, had joined the Congress party in August along with Krishna Rao. Janardhan Reddy, six-time MLA from Nagarkurnool, alleged that the Congress party was being destroyed in the state by state leaders misleading the central leadership of the party.

Nagam Janardhan Reddy had quit the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to join the Congress before the 2018 elections. The former, who was elected from Nagarkurnool for five consecutive terms, lost the 2018 election to BRS candidate Marri Janardhan Reddy.

TPCC Secretary K. Ajay Kumar raised a banner of revolt after he was denied a ticket from Gadwal. The party has fielded Sarita Thirupathaiah, a former chairperson of Gadwal Zilla Parishad, who quit the BRS to join Congress in July.

Ajay Kumar launched a scathing attack on Revanth Reddy, alleging that he sold the party tickets. He and his supporters staged a protest at Telangana Martyrs’ Memorial in Hyderabad, alleging that Revanth Reddy sold the Gadwal ticket for Rs.10 crore and 5 acres of land.

Taking serious note of his action, the TPCC Disciplinary Committee suspended him from the party. In Kalwakurthy, the Congress party had fielded Kasireddy Narayan Reddy. The MLC had resigned from BRS to join the Congress party early this month. He switched loyalties after BRS leadership ignored his demand to retain sitting MLA G. Jaipal Yadav.

Former Congress MLA Vamshi Chand Reddy was the ticket aspirant from Kalwakurthy. However, Vamshi Chand Reddy had already announced that they will work together for the party’s victory irrespective of who gets the ticket. Vamshi Chand was elected on Congress ticket from this constituency in 2014. He, however, failed to retain the seat in 2018.