Will Congress nominate a Madiga MLC?

Hyderabad: The demand has also triggered discussions among aspirants, particularly those from the SC community, over whether the Congress would nominate a Madiga leader to the Legislative Council and gain the first-mover advantage by addressing the long-standing demand for Madiga representation in the Council since the formation of Telangana as a separate state.

Aspirants from the SC Madiga community said that the credit for giving a Madiga leader the first opportunity to enter the Telangana Legislative Council would go to the Congress and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy if they were given a chance. With three nominated seats in the Telangana Legislative Council set to fall vacant in November, the demand for representation of the Scheduled Caste (SC) Madiga community has gained momentum, with community representatives urging the Congress government to nominate a Madiga leader under the Governor’s quota.

However, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has assured representation to the Padmashali community in one of the three seats. Meanwhile, TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud has stated that at least two of the three Governor-quota MLC seats would be allocated to Backward Classes (BCs).

Against this backdrop, former MLA SA Sampath Kumar, Dommata Sambaiah, Indira Singapuram, Devani Satish Madiga and several others are trying to secure an opportunity to enter the Council.

Community representatives, however, argued that the Madiga community had not received representation in the Telangana Legislative Council since the formation of the State in 2014. They pointed out that the previous BRS government, led by then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, had provided opportunities to MS Prabhakar and Goreti Venkanna under the SC category, both of whom belong to the Mala community.

Similarly, after the Congress came to power under Revanth Reddy, Addanki Dayakar, who also belongs to the Mala community, was nominated to the Legislative Council, they noted.

The community representatives said the time had come for the government to ensure social justice and equitable representation by nominating a Madiga leader under the Governor’s quota.

However, during the tenure of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy and former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao gave an opportunity to D Rajeshwar Rao, who belonged to the Madiga community but converted totally to Christian Community, under Christian Minorities Community. Former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao also gave an opportunity to Kadiyam Srihari, who belongs to the Baindla community.

Speaking to The Hans India, Devani Satish Madiga said he had requested Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to nominate him as an MLC to represent the Madiga community. He cited his long association with the MRPS movement and his role as a senior Congress leader as reasons for considering his candidature.

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Venkateshwarlu Kolishetty

Venkateshwarlu Kolishetty