Khammam LS ticket: BJP picks newbie, dilemma continues in Congress

Vinod Rao, a businessman turned politician was associated with RSS for nearly one decade. The RSS leadership has reportedly thrown its weight around in ensuring the ticket to him.

Khammam: Ending suspense over the BJP candidate for Khammam Lok Sabha, the party leadership has finally fielded a political novice Tandra Vinod Rao, who belongs to Velama community, for the seat. It might be noted that there was an intense race for the BJP ticket as nearly half a dozen leaders contested for the ticket.

Former MLA Jalagam Venkat Rao had also joined the race for the party ticket, after joining the saffron party on March 10 in the presence of Telangana BJP in-charge Tarun Chugh.

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The party district presidents, Galla Satyanarayana of Khammam, KV Ranga Kiran of Kothagudem, BJP’s Kisan Morcha state president Kondapalli Sridhar Reddy, a noted doctor Dr Gongura Venkateswara Rao and others had also lobbied for the ticket through their channels, but in vain.

The old timers have opposed nominating a newcomer for the Lok Sabha seat. They also took the matter to the party national general secretary Bandi Sanjay Kumar sometime back urging him to look into it and ensure ticket to a senior leader in the party.

Vinod Rao, a businessman turned politician was associated with RSS for nearly one decade. The RSS leadership has reportedly thrown its weight around in ensuring the ticket to him.

He has been touring Assembly segments in Khammam parliament constituency for the last few months. Vinod Rao’s family hails from Timmapet village of Mulakalapalli mandal in Kothagudem district.

His grandfather T Sudharshan Rao served as a trustee of Bhadradri Temple in the past and his father T Krishna Rao worked as a lawyer at Paloncha.

According to sources in the BJP those who expected the ticket and the cadres were said to be upset at the party leadership’s choice. In view of such discontent in the party, whether Vinod Rao could garner the cadres and leaders support in the electioneering was a big question.

Meanwhile, the dilemma was continuing in Congress over picking up a candidate for the Khammam Lok Sabha seat.

The party remained undecided even as Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka’s wife Mallu Nandini and minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy’s brother P Prasad Reddy’s followers have been running a campaign on social media claiming that the ticket would be given to their respective leaders.

Both the ticket aspirants have also been touring the constituency for the past several weeks meeting their followers and cadres in Khammam and Kothagudem districts. Their tours were looking like an election campaign even though the ticket was not allotted to anyone.