Stalemate continues as Congress seniors summon Bhatti, Ponguleti

Only three days are remaining before the nominations for the Lok Sabha elections close on April 25, but the tussle for the crucial Khammam ticket is continuing in Congress. The stalemate over Hyderabad and Karimnagar seats also continues as the party high command is yet to announce the candidates, keeping party leaders and cadre on tenterhooks.

Surprisingly, Renuka Chowdhury, who was recently made Rajya Sabha MP, threw her hat in the Khammam ring amid reports that the unreasonable delay in naming the candidates for the three key seats could hurt the party as the elections are only 20 days away. Towards resolving the Khammam seat riddle, the central leadership on Monday summoned Khammam strongmen — deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka and revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy — to Bengaluru where the party seniors sat with them.

Bhatti was eyeing the Khammam LS ticket for his wife Nandini, while Ponguleti wanted the ticket for his brother Prasad Reddy. Sources said the high command gave them a clear hint of who will be the candidate and told them to work for the candidate decided by it.

Despite the leadership facing pressure from senior leaders to get the Khammam ticket for their kin, the high command has almost finalised the candidate, sources said. “Former Warangal MP R Surender Reddy’s son R Raghurami Reddy is likely to be announced as the party candidate,” a source said.

The leadership also took the opinion of agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, who is another strong leader from Khammam. Tummala was also pitching for the ticket for one of his family members.

Speaking to reporters, Renuka said she is open to contesting from Khammam if the party has not decided on any candidate. “Even though Iam a member of the Rajya Sabha, I will step down if I win the Khammam Lok Sabha seat,” she asserted.

While the suspense continues, party leader Velichala Rajender Rao filed his nomination for Karimnagar seat on Monday although the high command has not announced the candidate. He was accompanied by transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar, who represents Karimnagar, at the time of filing his papers.

Rajender Rao, son of former Karimnagar MLA Velichala Jagapathi Rao, took out a huge rally in Karimnagar along with his supporters and party workers before filing his nomination. During the day, drama ensued when a AICC candidate list for Karimnagar confirming the ticket for Praveen Reddy did the rounds. Senior Congress leaders later said it was fake.

On Sunday, party leader Pulipati Rajesh Kumar filed his nomination for Hyderabad seat. A resident of Doodh Bowli, Rajesh entered the fray from Bahadurpura assembly constituency in the Nov 2023 polls. Rajesh, who hails from the Padmashali caste, is an advocate.

He filed the nomination for Hyderabad though he was not named as party candidate. It is expected that the high command may announce candidates for the three pending seats late on Tuesday.