Karimnagar: Internal differences threaten Congress candidate’s chances

Though Minister Ponnam Prabhakar is representing the constituency, the party aspirant may not get support from all pockets of the segment since the cadre are reportedly unhappy with the selection of the candidate.

Karimnagar: The Congress party candidate for Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency, Velichala Rajender Rao, appears to be facing quite some issues in ensuring support from his own party leaders and cadre in the Husnabad assembly segment.

Though Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar is representing the constituency, the party aspirant may not get support from all pockets of the segment since the cadre are reportedly unhappy with the selection of the candidate. Denial of the ticket to their leader and former MLA A Praveen Reddy is being cited as the main reason for the disappointment among the party workers, especially followers of the former legislator.

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Praveen Reddy, who served as MLA for the constituency from 2009 to 2014, was denied a ticket in the 2023 Assembly elections when Ponnam Prabhakar decided to contest from the segment. The TPCC leadership is said to have then promised to give the Karimnagar parliament ticket to Praveen Reddy in return for the Husnabad Assembly ticket, with Prabhkar too reportedly assuring his support to Praveen Reddy for the LS ticket. However, going back on its promise, the party gave the ticket to Rajender Rao.

Before the ticket was officially announced earlier this week, Rajender Rao had filed his nomination with Prabhakar and three party MLAs Adi Srinivas, Kavvampalli Satyanarayana and Medipally Satyam all accompanying him. Party circles raised objections over this move of the Minister and the MLAs since the party had not announced the ticket to Rajender Rao at that time.

Upset over this, Praveen Reddy too filed his nomination. Though the former MLA was not interested in filing a nomination, it is said he went ahead following the pressure from his followers, a senior Congress leader from the segment said, adding that not only Praveen Reddy, but his followers and party cadre were also disappointed over the “betrayal” by the party leadership.

Being the president of Mulkanoor Cooperative Credit and Marketing Society Limited, Praveen Reddy was enjoying the support of farmers, dairy farmers as well as the members of Mulkanoor Women’s Cooperative Dairy. Farmers from surrounding mandals are members in the Mulkanoor society, Asia’s second largest cooperative bank. Besides party cadre, farmers and women, who were getting benefit from cooperative society, would also not support the official Congress candidate, another Congress leader said.

Rumours are making rounds that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had tried to help Praveen Reddy but had to give the seat to Rajender Rao and also that the former MLA was denied a ticket as he reportedly refused to bear the poll expenditure. However, party leaders refused to confirm this.