Congress Names Candidates for Pending 3 LS Seats, Raghuram Reddy is Khammam Candidate

Hyderabad: The Congress on Wednesday named candidates for Khammam, Karimnagar and Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituencies, a day before the window for the filing of nominations for Lok Sabha elections shuts on April 25.

The party high command announced the candidature of Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy, a son of former Warangal MP R. Surender Reddy for the Khammam Lok Sabha seat, Velichala Rajender Rao for Karimnagar and Mohammed Waliullah Sameer for Hyderabad.

Rajendar Rao is the son of former MLA Velichala Jagapathi Rao. He contested on a Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) ticket in the 2009 LS polls from Karimnagar and came third with more than one lakh votes. He subsequently joined the Congress. Mohd Waliullah Sammer is the president of Hyderabad District Congress Committee.

The filing of nominations for the Lok Sabha polls commenced on April 18. But the Congress kept the names of the candidates for three seats pending till April 24, giving anxious moments to party leaders and cadre as the deadline to file nominations is April 25.

Interestingly, all these three candidates filed nomination papers in respective constituencies on Tuesday itself even though the party high command did not declare their candidature.

The delay was on account of the Khammam Lok Sabha seat for which there was heavy competition between ministers. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka sought ticket for his wife Nandini, revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy sought ticket for his brother Ponguleti Prasad Reddy and agriculture minister Tummala Nageshwar Rao sought ticket for his son Tummala Yugandhar.

The party high command finally opted for Raghuram Reddy and denied the ticket to all the kin of all the ministers to end the deadlock. Raghuram Reddy, however, happens to be a close relative of Srinivas Reddy. He is the father-in-law of Srinivas Reddy’s daughter Swapni Reddy.