Congress struggles to find strong candidate in Karimnagar

The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, according to party sources, is finding the task all the more tough with senior leaders not showing any interest to get into the fray from Karimnagar, which was once a stronghold for the grand old party.

Karimnagar: The Congress is caught in quite a conundrum over the Karimnagar Assembly constituency, where contenders for an Assembly ticket are many, but not many who stand a chance against the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi, which has already declared its candidate for the segment and is moving ahead with the campaign.

The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, according to party sources, is finding the task all the more tough with senior leaders not showing any interest to get into the fray from Karimnagar, which was once a stronghold for the grand old party.

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On one side, the BRS has reposed its faith in sitting MLA and BC Welfare & Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar, while on the other side, the Congress is still receiving applications from aspirants. Though the difficult situation the Congress is in has multiple reasons, one of the primary triggers was the decision of former MP and senior leader Ponnam Prabhakar’s decision to shift to Husnabad.

Prabhakar, who contested from the Karimnagar assembly segment in 2018, lost to Kamalakar, and tasted defeat again the next year when he tried his luck in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Karimnagar Parliament constituency, where the BJP’s Bandi Sanjay defeated him. Not ready to take a third chance, he is said to have decided to change the constituency itself and is planning to submit an application for the Husnabad segment on Friday, according to party sources.

Among the aspirants are local cable TV owner and granite businessman, Kotha Jaipal Reddy, who joined the Congress on Thursday, senior Congress leader M Satyanarayana Rao’s grandson M Rohit Rao and former MLC Santhosh. There are more who have reportedly submitted applications. These include Komatireddy Narender Reddy, TPCC secretary Vaidyula Anjani Kumar, District Mahila Congress president Karra Satyaprasanna, TPCC leader and Karimnagar Waqf Property Protection Cell in-charge Samad Nawab and DCC working president Komatireddy Padmakar Reddy.

Though all these leaders have their own versions of their influence, the Congress leadership appears to be not yet convinced on whether anyone of them have a winning chance against the BRS.