MLC polls: Congress MLA pits close aide against party’s official candidate

Patancheru MLA Mahipal Reddy reportedly wants to strengthen his base across the constituency ahead of local body elections in Telangana

Sangareddy: The filing of a nomination for the Adilabad-Karimnagar-Medak and Nizamabad Graduate MLC constituency by Congress leader N Yadagiri Yadav, a staunch loyalist of Patancheru MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy, has left politicians and people in the constituency puzzled. Though the Congress has officially fielded V Narendar Reddy from the constituency, Mahipal Reddy’s move to encourage his close associate Yadagiri to contest from the constituency has become a hot topic of discussion in political circles here.

The MLA had joined the Congress party after winning as MLA for the third consecutive time on a BRS ticket in 2023. Interestingly, Reddy’s younger brother Madhusudhan Reddy, who was seen as the right hand of the MLA, also accompanied Yadagiri Yadav while he was submitting his nomination to Karimnagar Collector and Returning Officer of the election Pamela Satpathy, on Monday.

---

Yadagiri, who was former MPP of RC Puram mandal, was in the BRS until Reddy was in the party. He joined the Congress along with the Patancheru MLA.

Though there was almost no possibility of Yadagiri winning the election, political pundits in Medak district believe that Mahipal Reddy wanted to send a message to the party or party leaders by fielding his man in the election. The attack on his camp office by Congress cadre and loyalists of Reddy’s rival Kata Srinivas Goud, who contested in Patancheru constituency on a Congress ticket in 2018 and 2023 in losing causes, reportedly left Mahipal Reddy angry. He was reportedly disappointed as the TPCC took no action against Goud and his men. In the wake of these developments, the MLA is reportedly planning to change loyalties again, but wants the Congress leadership to suspend him so that he can gain public support, some say.

“Refusing to place Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s photograph in his office, meeting BRS MLA Padma Rao Goud and making his loyalist file a nomination as an independent candidate in the MLC elections, all appear to be to force the Congress to suspend him from the party,” a political analyst said.

Since the local body elections were also fast approaching, the MLA wants to field his own panels in all the panchayats and civic bodies to strengthen his base across the constituency. He is also worried that his loyalists would not get enough opportunities in the local body elections if he continued to stay in the Congress. Political circles say a gripping political drama is all set to unfold in Patancheru constituency in the days to come as Mahipal Reddy tries to outfox political rivals within the Congress.