Congress ticket aspirants wait with fingers crossed in Adilabad

Aspirants of the Congress ticket are spending tense moments with the party yet to complete its exercise to finalise candidates for 80 Assembly constituencies soon

Adilabad: Aspirants of the Congress ticket are spending tense moments with the party yet to complete its exercise to finalise candidates for 80 Assembly constituencies soon. Over 90 applications were received seeking the ticket from 10 Assembly constituencies in erstwhile Adilabad district.

Though the BRS had declared nominees for 115 segments, the Congress is yet to announce its candidates though there are reports that candidates for 80 Assembly constituencies would be finalised by the first week of October.

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As many as 94 aspirants applied for the Congress ticket from Adilabad, Boath (ST), Nirmal, Mudhole, Khanapur (ST), Mancherial, Bellampalli (SC), Chennur (SC), Asifabad (ST) and Sirpur (T) Assembly segments in erstwhile Adilabad district. The constituencies reserved for STs and SC received highest applications. For instance, Boath (ST) segment saw 18 applications, followed by Khanapur (ST) which got 15 applications.

The candidature of former MLC K Premsagar Rao for Mancherial segment was reportedly confirmed while AICC president Mallikharjun Kharge toured Mancherial district in April. The nominees of the remaining nine constituencies are yet to be picked. Gandrath Sujatha and K Srinivas are vying for the Adilabad seat, with at least two aspirants in the fray for each Assembly constituency.

Meanwhile, former Government Whip Nallala Odelu and Khanapur MLA Rekha Naik’s husband Shyam Naik joined the Congress, making the selection tough for the party. Similarly, aspirants from Backward Communities are expecting the ticket of at least two segments out of Mancherial, Sirpur (T), Nirmal, Adilabad and Mudhole. Senior leaders insist that their opinions must be considered while giving the tickets.

The applicants, however, are conducting a slew of programmes in an attempt to draw attention of the high command of the Congress. Right from staging protests, criticising the government, touring villages and attending functions and organising social services events, they are trying everything they can to garner some attention. They have also deployed their followers on social media platforms to promote them.