Political potboiler in the making in erstwhile Khammam

The manner in which political winds are swiftly shifting gear and direction in the erstwhile Khammam district is promising a thrilling election potboiler ahead.

Hyderabad: The manner in which political winds are swiftly shifting gear and direction in the erstwhile Khammam district is promising a thrilling election potboiler ahead.

The district, which once used to favour the Congress, now has the BRS calling most of the shots, but saw some rumblings recently with the high profile drama played out by former MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, who vowed that he would defeat the BRS by shifting to the Congress after being shunted out of the ruling party for anti-party activities. However, no sooner did he join the Congress and begin attempts to establish his hold there, supporters who stood with him started returning to the BRS.

---

He however continued his efforts to secure supremacy within the party, and filed not one but three applications seeking tickets to contest in the forthcoming elections. These were from Khammam, Kothagudem and Palair. Even as this ruffled feathers within the Congress, with other leaders frowning on Ponguleti’s attempts at domination, the equations are once again changing with the entry of two more players on Thursday.

YSRTP founder YS Sharmila’s meeting with AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday is likely to further spoil Ponguleti’s game plans, with Sharmila having already evinced interest in contesting from Palair. Though there has been no official announcement over merger of YSRTP with the Congress, speculations are rife that there would be some announcement shortly.

While it remains to be seen whether the State leaders of Congress will consider Sharmila’s interest in Palair, another heavyweight has entered the ring in the form of former Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao, who has announced that he wants to contest from Palair. In fact, in a clear demonstration that Ponguleti’s application did not matter, TPCC president A Revanth Reddy on Thursday met Thummala and invited him to join the Congress. It is learnt that the party was keen to offer Palair to the former Minister, if he joins the party.

Even as this game over Palair gets played out within the Congress, the ruling BRS candidate from Palair, K Upender Reddy, has exuded confidence that irrespective of Sharmila, Ponguleti or Nageswara Rao, victory will be with him.

Ponguleti’s story however, does not end with his Palair aspirations or the three-seat application. The 64-year-old is viewed by some of the bigwigs from the Khammam political arena as the wrecker-in-chief of their electoral fortunes. Senior leaders including the likes of Thummala are yet to reconcile with the role played by him in the last elections. That is not all. At least three of the BRS nominees who lost in the 2018 assembly elections had pointed accusing fingers against him.

Consequently, the BRS preferred Nama Nageswar Rao to him from the Khammam parliamentary constituency in 2019. Those who attributed their defeat have been waiting to pay him back in his own coin, and with Ponguleti’s support base eroding fast, they have a smile on their faces. This was evident when Tellam Venkateswar Rao, BRS leader from Bhadrachalam, who joined the Congress along with Srinivas Reddy, returned to the BRS in less than a month. With the dust he kicked up while joining the Congress settling down, and his rivals within the party and outside waiting with daggers drawn, Ponguleti’s road ahead does not promise an easy journey.