T Cong ignores TJAC leaders

• Lone student leader gets a ticket
• One family one ticket norm strictly followed
• Recommendations of senior leaders rejected
• CPI may get less seats than expected

Hyderabad: The alliance between Congress and the CPI seems to be on the rocks as the AICC on Monday announced the names of candidates for 111 Assembly seats in Telangana.

The list had undergone several changes in the last three days. The party which had agreed to give 9 seats to CPI seems to have gone back on its assurance. It now appears that the Left party will have to remain contented with 7-8 seats. It has also dropped the TJAC leaders whose names it reportedly included in the list three days back. The Congress has by and large retained all the sitting MLAs.

Backward Class leaders were given 34 seats, SCs 18, STs 9 according to the reservation. One SC leader Mallu Ravi was renominated from Jadcherla in Mahabubnagar district making the number of SC candidates 19. Five Velamas got the Congress tickest while Brahmins were confined to two seats. Besides Sridharbabu from Manthani, Bhargav Desapande would be fielded from Adilabad constituency. In the Constituencies in which MIM is in serious contest, the Congress party has selected weak candidates. V Hanumantha Rao, three times Rajya Sabha members is being fielded from his native Assembly constituency, Amberpet in Hyderabad. Vijay Shanti who is an MP from Medak was asked to contest from Medak Assembly constituency. Vittal Rao who was an aspirant for Mahabubnagar Lok Sabha seat which was given to Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy is accommodated in Kondangal Assembly constituency in the same district.

The Congress party seems to have strictly followed the norm of one family one seat. The only exception given was in regard to five families. Those who have not been given tickets are former home minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and former minister P Shankar Rao. While Sabitha’s son Karthik Reddy has been given Chevella Lok Sabha ticket, the party high command did not consider the request of Shankar Rao to change his constituency and accommodate his daughter from Secunderabad cantonment. The Congress party has picked up a new face Krishank for this constituency. Krishank’s name was recommended by former Deputy Chief Minister C Damodar Rajanarsimha. The young leader is also said to be handpicked by Koppula Raju, the bureaucrat-turned-politician presiding over the SC cell at the AICC.

The five families which have been accommodated are the former minister D K Aruna from Gadwal and her brother T Rammohan Reddy from Parigi, Komati Reddy Venkat Reddy from Nalgonda and his brother Rajgopal Reddy from Bhongir, DS Reddy Naik Dornakal (ST) and his daughter M Kavitha from Mahabubabad, Ramreddy Damodar Reddy from Suryapet and his brother Ramreddy Venkat Reddy from Palair constituencies. Kodada constituency has been left out in the list. Uttam Kumar Reddy, TPCC working president, has been asking this seat for his wife Padma Reddy. It is one of the seats being demanded by the CPI. The other seat asked by the CPI was Station Ghanpur in Warangal district which was given to Dr Vijayarama Rao, former TRS minister.

Among the new faces are Dr Vinay Kumar, son of former senior Congress leader P Shiv Shankar from Musheerabad constituency. This has angered the former minister Mukhesh Goud who has been lobbying for his son. Soon after the announcement was made, Mukesh held a meeting with his party workers. What has come as a big surprise is the manner in which Congress had withdrawn the names of TJAC leaders D Yellana, Addanki Dayakar and Gajjala Kantam from the list that was announced on Saturday. The principle to give tickets to all those who fought on Congress ticket in 2009 and lost must have affected the prospects of the TJAC leaders.

The TDP aspirant for Malkajgiri constituency, Mynampalli Hanumantha Rao who quit TDP protesting against giving the seat to BJP joined Congress party on Monday. He went to Delhi with TPCC president Ponnala Laxmaiah. He also announced that he would be contesting from Malkajgiri constituency. But the party decided to field Nandi Kanti Sridhar from here. The party leadership did not consider the claim of Indrakaran Reddy who joined the Congress along with G Vivek. Angered over the developments, the CPI leaders convened an emergency meeting to discuss their next course of action.

The recommendations of senior leaders like S Jaipal Reddy, D Srinivas, K Jana Reddy and Ponnala Laxmaiah were not given any weight by the party high command. The results of the survey that was done by a private agency at the behest of Jairam Ramesh and Koppula Raju were taken very seriously. Shankara Rao was denied ticket basing on the survey results. The team sent by Rahul Gandhi, Congress Vice President visited the State a number of times and their inputs were given importance.