Cong. final list of candidates for Lok Sabha polls by Thursday

Tough time in identifying strong candidates for Adilabad ST, Warangal SC seats; Bhuvanagiri seat is the sore point where Rajagopal Reddy is firm on a ticket for his wife while TPCC vicepresident Kiran Kumar Reddy is said to have CM’s backing

Selection process

His statement came in wake of senior leaders like V. Hanumantha Rao, G. Niranjan and Bakka Judson coming down heavily on the Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and also the selection of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.

Mr. Hanumantha Rao was irked that the Chief Minister did not give him time since he assumed office while Mr. Niranjan was upset that four outsiders had been allotted tickets when there were several other deserving leaders for the Lok Sabha polls. Mr. Judson went a step further criticising the surveys conducted by strategist Sunil Konugolu.

Appropriate forum

Mr. Mahesh said if these leaders have any issues, there were appropriate forum to air their views. The All India Congress Committee has finalised the candidates after wide ranging consultations with the Chief Minister and other senior leaders and it is not a unilateral decision of any individual, he said adding that any further criticism of the ticket allocation and leadership would be viewed very seriously.

The party has so far named nine candidates for the Lok Sabha elections while the rest are likely to be announced after the Central Election Committee of the party meeting again on March 27 in New Delhi.

The eight muchawaited names from the Congress party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections is expected to be finalised at the Central Election Committee meeting on March 27 in New Delhi.

An official announcement will be made late that day or on March 28. With the main opposition BRS and the BJP announcing all the 17 candidates, the Congress party is treading a cautious path in finalising the names for the remaining eight constituencies.

The party is yet to name its candidates for Khammam, Bhuvanagiri, Nizamabad, Hyderabad, Karimnagar and Medak, Warangal SC and Adilabad ST seats. It has already announced candidates from nine constituencies including four, who recently joined the Congress party.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy are scheduled to attend the meeting on March 27. Highly placed sources said the selection of the right candidates for Adilabad and Warangal was an issue. Initially, the party toyed with the idea of fielding an Adivasi doctor, Sumalatha.

Now, the party is said to be considering a teacher named Atram Suguna for the Adilabad ST seat.

In Warangal, it was believed that sitting BRS MP Pasunuri Dayakar would get the Congress ticket following his defection. However, party sources maintain that Singapuram Indira, who had unsuccessfully contested against Kadiyam Srihari of the BRS from Station Ghanpur constituency, might be favoured. Another leader D. Sambaiah’s name was also under consideration,

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is scheduled to attend the meeting in New Delhi on. Wednesday.

sources said.

The party has shortlisted Praveen Reddy for the Karimnagar constituency but there are murmurs in the party that the former has not yet interacted with the erstwhile Karimnagar district ministers nor has he started his campaign. On the whole, he is likely to get the goahead.

With Mallu Ravi getting the Nagarkurnool ticket, the line is said to be cleared for Ponguleti Prasad Reddy, brother of Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy to get the nod for Khammam seat. The sore point is said to be Bhuvanagiri Lok Sabha seat, where Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy is firm on a ticket for his wife Lakshmi while TPCC vicepresident Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy is said have strong backing of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for the same constituency.

The party, after trying to scout for an alternative candidate for Nizamabad seat, is now said to have decided on MLC T. Jeevan Reddy. Medak seat is also in focus with strong competition between Neelam Madhu and TPCC working president Turpu Jayaprakash Reddy aka Manjula, wife of senior Congress leader Jayaprakash Reddy.

BJP Telangana president G. Kishan Reddy addressing a party meeting in Hyderabad.