Parties to start poll campaign from Karimnagar

Karimnagar: All three major political parties are set to start their election campaign from the erstwhile Karimnagar district.

After having renominated all sitting MLAs, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao started the party's poll campaign from his ‘lucky’ Husnabad constituency of Karimnagar district.

The BJP, which is yet to announce its candidates, is to launch its campaign from Jammikunta in the Huzurabad constituency on Monday with Union defence Minister Rajnath Singh is in town.

The Congress party has announced names of candidates in seven of 13 assembly segments. MLA D. Sridhar Babu (Manthani), MLC T. Jeevan Reddy (Jagtial) and Ch. Vijay Ramana Rao (Peddapalli) has all made it to the first list.

All four DCC presidents of Rajanna Sircilla, Jagtail, Peddapalli, and Karimnagar districts Aadi Srinivas (Vemulawada), Adluri Laxman Kumar (Dharmapuri), Raj Tagore Makkan Singh (Ramagundam) and Dr.Kavvampally Satyanarayana (Manakondur) has also been given tickets.

As regards the Karimnagar seat, represented by BC welfare minister Gangula Kamalakar, there is heavy competition within Congress with four key leaders M. Rohith Rao, K. Narendar Reddy, K. Jaypal Reddy and P. Srinivas vying with each other for the party ticket.

In Huzurabad, the grandson of Singarapu Rajeshwar Rao, a kin of Captain Laxmikantha Rao, a former close associate of Chandrashekar Rao,  who recently joined Congress, is in the ticket race along with NSUI state president Balmoori Venkat Rao.

As for the Sircilla seat, represented by IT minister K.T. Rama Rao, the Congress party is seeing a fight between K. Mahendar Reddy, Medipally Sathyam, V. Raj Mallaiah, and Nagi Shekar.

In the Husnabad Assembly segment, former MP Ponnam Prabhakar and former MLA Aligireddy Praveen Reddy are battling it out for the Congress ticket.