Congress Finds it Tough to Decide on Khammam and Karimnagar
The congress is still having difficulty deciding on candidates for karimnagar and Khammam. Some new names are being heard within the party and are being considered anew as top officials continue to advocate at the AICC. party insiders claim that in khammam, Revenue minister Ponguleti srinivas reddy and deputy chief minister Mallu bhatti vikramarka have made it difficult for the AICC to decide by being resolute and working to guarantee their relatives receive tickets.
As the bjp and BRS have nominated formidable candidates in bandi sanjay kumar and B Vinod Kumar, respectively, the party leadership in karimnagar is scratching its head over their decision to nominate strong candidates from the upper caste, or BC.
The party is optimistic about winning in khammam, but karimnagar is still a difficult nut to crack. For a time, Aligireddy Praveen reddy, the former Husnabad MLA, is still being considered. Husnabad's farmers highly value the services of Praveen, who was also a former chairman of Mulkanoor Cooperative bank and Marketing Society Ltd., and his father Kashi Vishwanatha Reddy. The farming community is supportive of the family. After receiving a ticket for karimnagar as an MP, Praveen reddy also surrendered Husnabad to minister Ponnam prabhakar during the most recent assembly elections.
But because of the caste system, Velichala Rajender Rao—the son of the late karimnagar MLA Jagapathi Rao—has been talking about velama for a while now in the party. The leading contender in the running for the bc seat from Munnurukapu, Teenmar Mallanna (Chintapandu Naveen), is the congress party's choice to strike a balance between khammam and Karimnagar.
It is being reported that since BRS candidate B Vinod, who is also a velama, and Bandi Sanjay, a Munnurkapu, have established themselves in respective castes, congress may have to choose between velama and BC. The party also has the possibility of providing a ticket to a parachute candidate, like those in nearby seats like Warangal.