Congress first list features 10 defectors, remaining 64 names in multiple lists

Hyderabad: Eight defectors from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), two from Bharatiya Janata Party and one independent candidate have been given tickets by the Indian National Congress Party in Telangana. The All India Congress Committee declared its first list of 55 candidates for the ensuing Telangana Assembly elections, on Sunday morning.

Move to Congress rewarded

The leaders who left BRS and recently joined the Congress party have been provided tickets for the constituencies they demanded.

The candidates on the list who left other parties for Congress are:

Kuchadi Srihari Rao (Nirmal)

Mynampally Rohit Rao (Medak)

Mynampally Hanumanth Rao (Medchal)

Sarita Thirupathaiah (Gadwal)

Dr Kuchakulla Rajesh Reddy (Nagarkurnool)

Kasireddy Narayan Reddy (Kalwakurthy)

Jupally Krishna Rao (Kollapur)

Vemula Veerasham (Nakrekal)

There are two candidates from the BJP who have been accommodated by the Congress party. They are:

P Vinay Kumar Reddy (Armur)

A Chandra Shekar (Zaheerabad)

An Independent candidate, who joined the Congress party from Balkonda is Sunil Kumar Muthalya, and he has been given a ticket.

Congress candidate facing KCR in polls

Congress has fielded Thumkunta Narsa Reddy to contest against the chief minister and BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao in Gajwel. Narsa Reddy left Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now BRS) in 2018 and joined the Congress party.

Narsa Reddy complained that CM KCR wouldn’t meet him to discuss the problems of people from his constituency. He left the party in 2018 and has been campaigning in Gajwel as he is familiar with the area and its people.

Dual representations from family

The Congress party has gone against its Udaipur Declaration and has given more than one ticket per family to contest in the Assembly elections.

The father-son duo of Mynampally Hanumanth Rao and his son Mynampally Rohit Reddy is one example. The Congress giving tickets for Huzurnagar and Kodad seats to party leaders and husband and wife Uttam Kumar Reddy and N Padmavathi Reddy, respectively, is another example.

A senior Congress leader said, “Rohit Rao is a new joiner and he is contesting for the first time. While Padmavathi Reddy has contested three times and won once. She has been a loyal worker of the party.”

Phase-wise release of names for remaining 64 seats

While the first list was announced on Sunday, the remaining names for the 64 constituencies will be announced in multiple phases. Party leaders are citing ‘very complex issues in some constituencies’ as the reason for the staggered releases. “The announcement of the list will take time and will be given a few days before the final nomination dates,” explained a senior member of the Congress party.