Tickets for family or newcomers? Congress in dilemma over ‘one family, one ticket’ hurdle

Hyderabad: Senior Congress leaders vying for tickets for spouses and other family members are in an upbeat mood! The reason: they are confident of getting them in view of their ‘long service’ for the party and their plea is in consonance with the famed Udaipur Declaration of the party!

‘One family, one ticket’ hurdle has created uneasiness in some of the aspirants in the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) due to the growing demand for tickets for ‘two’ in family and in some cases three!

Undercurrent against two tickets

An undercurrent of ‘one family, one ticket’ is being circulated by rivals in various constituencies without reading the rider in the Udaipur Declaration. Though the party's high command has taken cognisance of the issue, it has created animosity among ticket aspirants in districts where there is demand for more than one ticket from the family.

High demand for Congress ticket

Demand for Congress assembly tickets in Telangana State has hit the roof following the return of Congress in neighbouring Karnataka state, and party leadership in Telangana too sees winds of change! A visit to Gandhi Bhavan, the Congress headquarters at Nampally in Hyderabad, reveals the buoyant mood among the party leaders and cadre.

In fact, some of the party leaders are quite confident of the party coming to power in Telangana this time notwithstanding BRS claims! This is the precise reason the demand for MLA tickets has shot up in Congress.

The party received 1,060 applications for 119 Assembly constituencies. It has fixed Rs 50,000 as a nonrefundable application fee for the general category and Rs 25,000 for SC and STs.

Demand for two tickets in a family, not an issue: Uttam Kumar Reddy

“It's (one family, one ticket) not an issue at all. The party will go by the Udaipur Declaration which makes it clear that if another member of the family is seeking a ticket, he or she should have five years of organisational experience. Many of them have it. The demand for two tickets in a family is not an issue in the party,” N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Nalgonda Congress MP, Congress Election Committee (CEC) member and ex-TPCC president told NewsMeter.

Reddy is already in the party screening committee of Telangana to shortlist the candidates contesting in the Assembly polls and place it before the party high command for approval.

Uttam Kumar Reddy and his wife Padmavathi Reddy, have a long innings in the Congress party. While Uttam Kumar Reddy is MP, Padmavathi Reddy was the party's MLA from Kodad from 2014 to 2018. She is seeking a ticket again.

As the demand for more than one ticket in a family is growing in the Congress party, the Udaipur Declaration is being tossed by the party's high command.

What about those who never got a ticket?

“If those who enjoyed power, got two tickets in the past for their family want it again, when will newcomers get a chance to contest? What about those who never got a ticket yet put their life and blood into the party for ages? The party should infuse young blood and give tickets to newcomers,” asserted a young party leader.

What does the Udaipur Nav Sankalp Declaration of May 15, 2022 say?

“The principle of ‘one person, one post’ should be followed. Likewise, the principle of ‘one family, one ticket’ should also be ensured. In case another member of the family is politically active, they will be considered for a ticket only after five years of organisational experience,” the AICC declaration asserted. But few read the rider!

When some aspirants raised this issue and asked TPCC president A Revanth Reddy to see that AICC implements in letter and spirit the Udaipur Declaration, and ensures tickets for youth, he assured that it would be taken care of by the party's high command. “Service in the party etc. and winning chances will be the sole criteria in the selection of candidate,” Reddy asserted.

Demand for two tickets

The demand for two tickets is on the rise in the Congress party. K Jana Reddy’s eldest son K Raghuveer Reddy has sought a Nagarjuna Sagar/Miryalaguda ticket while the youngest son applied for Nagarjuna Sagar.

Permanent invitee for the Congress Working Committee (CWC) Damodar Raja Narasimha, who represented the Andole (SC) constituency in the past has also pitched for his daughter Trisha. Mulug MLA D Anusuya, better known as Seethakka, has sought Mulugu ticket while her son Danasari Surya is seeking a ticket from Pinapaka.

Senior party leaders and couple, Konda Murali and Konda Surekha are seeking two tickets—Surekha for Warangal East and Murali wants Parkal ticket.

Former minister P Janardhan Reddy’s son P Vishnuvardhan Reddy and sister corporator P Vijaya Reddy too are vying for two tickets. Vishnuvardhan Reddy made it clear that the Jubilee Hills constituency belongs to him (he even threatened former cricketer Mohd Azharuddin not to enter the constituency). Vijaya Reddy is seeking a ticket for the Khairtabad Assembly constituency.

Former Secunderabad MP Anjan Kumar Yadav is seeking Musheerabad Assembly ticket while his son and TPCC Youth Congress general secretary Anil Kumar wants either Secunderabad or Goshamahal. He is also seeking a ticket for another son! Former Union Minister Balaram Naik too pitched in and is seeking a ticket for himself and his son.