Congress has 32 aspirants for Yellandu, Ponguleti applies for three

As many as 32 aspirants have submitted their applications for the seat reserved to Scheduled Tribes (STs) and the number of aspirants is the highest in the State.

Khammam: Those on the Telangana Congress Pradesh Election Committee (PEC) tasked to select the party candidates are certainly going to get a headache in choosing the candidate for Yellandu constituency in Kothagudem district.

As many as 32 aspirants have submitted their applications for the seat reserved to Scheduled Tribes (STs) and the number of aspirants is the highest in the State. Of the 32 aspirants, 22 are from the Lambada community while the remaining 10 belong to Koya and other communities.

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Kothagudem ZP chairman and former MLA, Koram Kanakaiah, the follower of former MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, is one among the aspirants who submitted applications for the seat.

An NRI, M Srinivas Rao, also submitted an application for the seat. Interestingly, even before the allotment of the party ticket, an aspirant Banoth Vijaya Lakshmi has been touring the constituency seeking the support of voters in the upcoming Assembly elections even as Kanakaiah is confident of getting the ticket.

A large number of applications were submitted for Pinapaka (ST), Palair (General) and Wyra (ST). As many as 17 aspirants submitted applications for Pinapaka, 14 for Palair and 15 for Wyra ticket. 10 applications each have been submitted for Sathupalli (SC) and Kothagudem (General) seats.

Only two applications have been submitted for Madhira (SC), one by CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka and another by Kota Rambabu. In Aswaraopet, former MLA Thati Venkateshwarlu and Srinivas Reddy’s follower Jare Adinarayana are seeking a ticket.

In Sathupalli (SC), Congress leader Dr. Matta Dayanand Vijay Kumar, whose SC caste certificate was cancelled by the district Collector recently, filed an application along with his wife Matta Ragamayee for the ticket.

Former MP Srinivas Reddy seems to be undecided regarding the place of contest as he submitted applications for Khammam, Palair and Kothagudem seats. His follower Muvva Vijaya Babu also filed applications for Khammam and Palair seats. His followers Maddineni Baby Swarna Kumari and Vukani Gopal Rao submitted applications for Palair and Kothagudem tickets respectively.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Congress minority leader Mohammed Javed, who is aspiring for the Khammam ticket, said he was a capable candidate by all means and was protecting the cadres for the last several years even as other leaders left the party.

“I am not asking for the ticket just as a minority leader. The Congress Jaipur Declaration says those who work hard for the party have to be given priority in giving them a chance to contest the polls,” he added.