Congress will win hands down

Warangal: District Congress Committee (DCC) president of the combined Warangal, Naini Rajender Reddy, a Congressman to the core — always accepting the party’s decision without the slightest murmur of dissent, now stands at the crossroads of his political career spanning more than three-and-a-half-decade.

Almost sure to get Warangal West ticket this time if sources are to be believed, unlike the eleventh-hour setbacks that he faced during last two elections, Reddy is positive and optimistic while awaiting his turn. His elevation in the party from NSUI president to DCC president didn’t happen in haste, it took no fewer than three decades.

Like any other politico, he too has an ambition to become legislator and was so close to get the ticket but was unlucky to miss the bus twice. Unperturbed despite these setbacks, Reddy not only continued to be loyal to the party but also worked hard for development of the party. In difficult times, he took over as DCC in-charge president following the resignation of Donthi Madhava Reddy ahead of 2014 general elections.

It’s tough to be a district chief of any political party, especially when not in rule. Since the TRS clinched the power in 2014, there have been lopsided migrations to the ruling party from almost all the Opposition parties. Congress is no exception with a good number of its legislators and leaders crossing over to the TRS.

“Opposition parties, especially the Congress have gone through a difficult phase surviving the onslaught of the ruling TRS, which encouraged defections with the aim of weakening its opponents in every possible way,” Reddy alleged. “I am a victim of vindictive politics,” the DCC chief said, referring to the case filed against him in connection with the TRS Corporator Anisetty Murali’s murder last year. Despite all this, the Congress will win hands down, he asserted.

The Hans India (THI) spoke to Reddy, who is busy shortlisting the aspirants for the upcoming Assembly elections here on Sunday. “We have a long list of aspirants for all the 12 constituencies spread across the erstwhile Warangal district.”

What is the criterion for the selection of candidates?
Seniority, loyalty and winnability – all three aspects are important. Data obtained from Shakti app is also taken into consideration. This apart, the party leadership is also conducting a survey in all constituencies to select winnable candidates.

How many shortlisted candidates figure in each constituency?
The party leadership wants to truncate it to five for each constituency.

How many seats the alliance parties get in the erstwhile Warangal?
It’s up to party to decide. Recently, AICC President Rahul Gandhi had made it clear that Congress will not leave its stronghold seats to the alliance partners. Against this backdrop, I think one or two seats will be allotted to the alliance.

Tell us about your prospects of getting Warangal West ticket?
Since my student days, I have been with the party through thick and thin. In spite of pressure exerted by the ruling TRS, I stuck to my task – reaching out the people in the West constituency. I almost covered entire constituency through padayatra in the last few months.

It’s said that Telangana Jana Samithi president Prof. Kodandaram and Vem Narender Reddy from the Congress are also vying for the West ticket.
I have all the credentials required to project myself as the most probable candidate to take on TRS. I believe this time around the party will not disappoint me.