Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who held the Malkajgiri Parliament seat till he became the Chief Minister, asked party leaders to consider him as the candidate and work irrespective of who would be chosen by the party high command.
“Work as if I am the candidate to see that the Congress flag flies high. I assure you that Malkajgiri will turn into a role model constituency in the country,” he told a gathering consisting of senior leaders like TPCC campaign committee chairman Madhu Yaskhi Goud, former MLA Hanumanth Rao and contested candidates in the Assembly elections on Thursday. He said that the constituency gave him a new identity in New Delhi that opened the gates for becoming the Chief Minister.
He reminded that the party had no chance of winning the seat in 2019 when he first came to the constituency at the last moment but people showered love on him and the Congress to send him to Parliament. Given his track record and contribution to the constituency apart from Congress being in the government now the party should win the seat, he said.
Mr. Yaskhi said that irrespective of who would be the candidate, the party was bound to win the seat. “Let us leave the choice of the candidate to the Chief Minister and work with the sole aim of ensuring the party’s victory,” he told the gathering.
Congress is likely to face a tough competition with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) picking up former Minister Eatala Rajender. He has already started his campaign and is hoping that the Modi magic would help him sail through.
The BRS, on the other hand, has picked up Ragidi Lakshma Reddy, a former Congress leader who joined BRS before the Assembly elections after being denied the Uppal Assembly ticket. His only hope is that BRS has seven MLAs in the constituency and their support would be with him.
Volatile situation
However, with the political scene changing rapidly and BRS leaders defecting to Congress at a fast pace, there is a likelihood of some of these BRS MLAs shifting to the Congress or discreetly supporting it.
Congress campaign is likely to pick up speed once its candidates are announced. Though Ms. Sunita Mahender Reddy’s name is in circulation, it is yet to be finalised. There are a couple of other aspirants who could come in at the last time changing the game entirely.
