Kothagudem: Will absence of Congress symbol benefit BRS in this constituency?

Kothagudem: Kothagudem constituency, which is a stronghold of the Congress party, is currently witnessing a three-cornered contest between Vanama Venkateswara Rao from BRS, Jalagam Venkat Rao from All India Forward Bloc (an independent party) and Congress-supported CPI candidate Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao.

Vanama Venkateswara Rao won the 2018 elections on a Congress ticket by defeating BRS candidate Jalagam Venkat Rao with a margin of 4,139 votes. However, he later shifted to the ruling party. Vanama Venkateswara, a senior leader, is now seeking re-election for the sixth time. He was elected four times under the Congress banner and once from the BRS.

Vanama Venkateswara, who was elected as a MLA from Kothagudem for the first time in 1989, represented the constituency in 1999 and 2004, besides serving as a minister in the cabinet of former Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy in 2008. In the 2018 general elections, he contested on an Indian National Congress party ticket. He won with a majority of 4120 votes over the nearest then-BRS party candidate, Jalagam Venkat Rao, who is contesting independently now. After the 2018 elections, Vanama resigned from the Congress Party and joined the BRS.

Kothagudem has 2.3 lakh voters. In the 2018 Telangana elections, Kothagudem had 212139 registered electors. Out of these, 173421 exercised their franchise which accounted for 81.75% turnout.

Jalagam Venkat Rao, now contesting independently, won as MLA from the Kothagudem assembly constituency in the 2014 general elections, the first and the only TRS legislator from the Khammam district.

In the 2018 Telangana assembly elections, he contested from Kothagudem on BRS ticket but lost to his Congress rival Vanama Venkateswara Rao. Rao's father Jalagam Vengala Rao was the 5th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He has a good name in the constituency.

Will BRS benefit as Congress has decided to support CPI?

In Kothagudem, the Congress has a loyal vote bank, as evidenced by the consistent victories of its candidates in past elections. However, in the upcoming 2023 election, the Congress has allied with the CPI. The Congress has given the Kothagudem Assembly seat to the CPI in the old Khammam district to defeat the BJP. The Congress and CPI have joined forces and promised to grant two MLC tickets to the CPI after the Assembly election results are announced.

The traditional Congress vote bank will find the Congress symbol missing from the EVMs. This is likely to benefit the BRS candidate who is facing anti-incumbency.

During an interaction with NewsMeter, Vanama Venkateswara expressed his confidence in securing a victory in this election.

Here are the excerpts:

Q. Being the 5th time MLA, do you face anti-incumbency?

A. As a Panchayat ward member, MLA, and a Minister in my 40 years of political career, I am confident of winning with a majority of 50,000 votes. Unlike the opposition leaders who are mere tourists, I am a local individual who understands the pulse of the people.

Q. What is your strategy for the upcoming elections?

A. Throughout my career, I have worked tirelessly for the welfare and development of the people. During the last five years, the BRS government has allocated Rs 3000 Crore towards the development of my constituency and was able to provide schemes to 76,000 beneficiaries.

Q. Who do you think is a competitor for BRS?

A. Even if there is a Congress candidate, I will have the majority of votes. I have no competition with Jalagam or Sambasiva Rao. They are just tourists in Kothagudem.