Congress yet to fix candidates for 3 constituencies; Revanth flies to Delhi

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy flew to New Delhi on Thursday morning to participate in an AICC meeting, during which the party high command is likely to finalise the candidates for the constituencies in Telangana.

Hyderabad: The Congress party, which has released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, appears to be struggling to finalise its candidates for the three constituencies of Hyderabad, Karimnagar and Khammam. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy flew to New Delhi on Thursday morning to participate in an AICC meeting, during which the party high command is likely to finalise the candidates for the constituencies in Telangana.

The party had announced candidates for 14 constituencies out of the 17 in the State. But there has been inordinate delay in announcing candidates for the three constituencies, which are witnessing heavy competition from the aspirants.

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In Karimnagar, Praveen Reddy, Velichala Rajendra Rao and C Naveen (Teenmaar Mallanna) are among the serious probable candidates. During Assembly elections, the party had asked Praveen Reddy to make way for Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar Rao to contest from Husnabad. Adhering to the party directions, Praveen Reddy sacrificed his seat and is now demanding the party leadership to fulfill the promise made to him during the Assembly elections. However, since the Velama community has a stronghold in Karimnagar constituency, party leaders are vying different options.

Similarly, the party is yet to announce its candidate for the Hyderabad constituency, which is currently being represented by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. Among many aspiring to contest from the constituency, Hyderabad DCC president Sameer Waliullah, Shyam Rao and entrepreneur Ali Masqati are the front runners.

Though there have been reports that former Indian cricket captain Mohd Azharuddin and tennis ace Sania Mirza might be considered for contesting from Hyderabad constituency, the party leaders dismissed those as mere speculations.