TS Polls: Congress releases first list, names candidates for 55 seats

Hyderabad: The Congress on Sunday released its first list of candidates for the November 30 Telangana Assembly polls, naming candidates for 55 seats, comprising senior leaders, incumbents and MPs and 11 new entrants — eight from the BRS and two from the BJP and one from the BSP.

According to the list, TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy, the Malkajgiri MP, will contest the Kodangal Assembly seat. All five incumbent MLAs also figure in the list, with CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka set to contest the Madhira seat, Duddilla Sridhar Babu to contest Manthani, Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka) to contest Mulugu, Podem Veeraiah to contest Bhadrachalam and Thurpu Jagga Reddy to contest Sangareddy.

Revanth Reddy apart, the Congress also fielded its MP, N. Uttam Kumar Reddy from Huzurnagar and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy from Nalgonda.

In all, six women candidates figured in the list. They were Seethakka (Mulugu), journalist Kota Neelima (Sanathnagar), Telangana Mahila Congress president Mogili Sunitha (Goshamahal), Gadwal zilla parishad chairman Saritha Thirupathaiah (Gadwal), former MLA N. Padmavathi Reddy (Kodad) and Singapuram Indira (Station Ghanpur).

The AICC central election committee (CEC) will meet on Monday to finalise candidates for the remaining seats and the party is expected to declare candidates for all 119 Assembly constituencies by October 19.

There were also multiple instances of leaders and their family members getting multiple tickets. One instance is of Lok Sabha member N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, who will contest the Huzurnagar seat, while his wife, N. Padmavathi Reddy, will contest the Kodad seat.

Another instance was of Malkajgiri MLA Mynampally Hanumanth Rao, who got the Malkajgiri ticket and managed to secure the Medak ticket for his son Rohith. He had quit the BRS for not fielding his son.

Veteran leader Kunduru Jana Reddy's son Jayaveer Reddy will contest from Nagarjunasagar in his father’s stead. Jana Reddy recently met AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal in Delhi and sought a ticket to his son Jayaveer from Nagarjunasagar in his place.

All three incumbent Congress Lok Sabha members, A. Revanth Reddy, N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, figured in the list. Venkat Reddy will contest the elections from Nalgonda.

Eleven new entrants into the Congress also secured tickets. They include Mynampally Hanumanth Rao (Malkajgiri), Mynampally Rohith (Medak), Kuchadi Srihari Rao (Nirmal), Vemula Veeresham (Nakrekal), Prodduturi Vinay Kumar Reddy (Armur), Muthyala Sunil Kumar Reddy (Balkonda), Agam Chandra Sekhar (Zaheerabad). Kasireddy Narayan Reddy (Kalwakurthy), Saritha Thirupathaiah (Gadwal), Jupally Krishna Rao (Kollapur) and Kuchakulla Rajesh Reddy (Nagarkurnool).

Of them, Hanumantha Rao, Rohith, Kuchadi Srihari Rao, Vemula Veeresham, Kasireddy Narayan Reddy, Jupally Krishna Rao, Saritha Thirupathaiah and Kuchakulla Rajesh joined from the BRS. Agam Chandra Sekhar and Prodduturi Vinay Kumar Reddy joined from the BJP, while Muthyala Sunil Kumar Reddy joined from the BSP.

Highlights:

AICC declares 55 candidates in first list for the Telangana state elections

Caste wise, 17 tickets for Reddy community, 12 for BCs, 12 for SCs, 7 for Velamas, 3 for minorities, 2 for Brahmins and 2 for STs

5 MLAs — Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Duddilla Sridhar Babu, T. Jagga Reddy, Seethakka and Podem Veeraiah — retained

3 Lok Sabha members — A. Revanth Reddy, N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy — in the list

2 families get two tickets each: N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and his wife Padmavathi Reddy; Mynampally Hanumanth Rao and his son Mynampally Rohith

K. Jana Reddy's son K. Jayaveer Reddy gets Nagarjunasagar ticket

11 new entrants — one-fifth of the list — from other parties get tickets

Party fields six women, including MLA Seethakka