Denied Congress candidates in Telangana mull Rebellion, Resignation

Tensions flared at Gandhi Bhavan, where supporters of Jubilee Hills ticket aspirant P Vishnuvardhan Reddy threw bricks and tore down flexis and posters of TPCC president A Revanth Reddy.

Hyderabad: A day after the Congress party’s announcement of its second list of 45 candidates for the upcoming elections, dissatisfaction erupted among those who were overlooked. Several aspirants have resigned from the party and others have voiced plans to run as rebel candidates. In multiple constituencies, leaders who had anticipated being nominated expressed their displeasure and urged the party to revise the list to include their names.

Tensions flared at Gandhi Bhavan, the party’s headquarters, where supporters of Jubilee Hills ticket aspirant P Vishnuvardhan Reddy threw bricks and tore down flexis and posters of TPCC president A Revanth Reddy. Vishnuvardhan Reddy questioned the party’s decision to allocate tickets to multiple members of the same family while ignoring his own candidacy. “When two tickets are issued to leaders from one family, why has not the Congress issued a ticket to me” asked Vishnuvardhan Reddy, referring to the tickets issued to Mynampally Hanumantha Rao and N Uttam Kumar Reddy family members.

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In Kukatpally, G Vengal Rao objectd to the nomination of Bandi Ramesh. Rao’s supporters protested against TPCC leadership, leading to a visit by senior party officials in an attempt to calm agitated workers. Similarly, supporters of Chalamala Krishna Reddy in Munugode burnt an effigy of Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy, who received the ticket instead.

Janga Raghava Reddy of Warangal issued a two-day deadline for the party to reconsider his application. He warned that failure to nominate him could adversely affect the party’s prospects in six constituencies. In Parakala, Inugula Venkatram Reddy declared his refusal to support the nominated Revuri Prakash Reddy, hinting at a potential independent run.

TPCC General Secretary M Saraswathi, who had hoped for a nomination from Asifabad, announced her intention to resign, accusing the party of neglecting tribal communities. In Yellareddy, Subhash Reddy broke down before his supporters after failing to secure a ticket and warned that the party would regret its decision. Former MLA Erra Sekhar also announced plans to run as a rebel candidate in Jadcherla constituency, alleging that the ticket allocation was not based on any formal survey.

the Lambada Hakkula Porata Samithi accused the TPCC president of plotting to remove the Lambada community from the list of Scheduled Tribes. The group warned that they would work towards defeating Congress candidates if the party did not address these concerns. Lambadi community leaders were offered tickets from constituencies where the community vote bank was less than 10,000. Likewise, they were being issued tickets in Boath and Asifabad constituencies where Adivasi community population was high. “If the Congress does not mend its ways, we will ensure Congress candidates defeat” warned LHPS State president Bhookya Kotya Naik and Secretary G Bheema Naik in a statement.

Yellareddy ticket aspirant Subhash Reddy broke down before his supporters after being denied ticket. He warned that the party would have to pay for the betrayal and for offering ticket K Madan Mohan Rao. Upset over being denied ticket to Subhash Reddy, one his supporters attempted self-immolation but was stopped by the other supporters.