Over 1,000 aspirants vie for Congress tickets

HYDERABAD: More than 1,000 aspirants for Assembly poll tickets have applied to the state Congress from all 119 constituencies. This is the first time the party has implemented the system.

TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy has applied for his traditional Kodangal constituency and CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has sought to stick with his Madhira seat. Senior leaders such as K. Jana Reddy, V. Hanumantha Rao, Renuka Chowdhary, Nagam Janardhan Reddy, Konda Murali, and others did not apply.

Among the contenders are leaders who have recently made the transition from the BJP and BRS.

Party sources said the TPCC would be following the one family-one ticket rule for newcomers. It would not apply to two family members who have already contested and been elected.

Anjani Kumar Yadav and his son Anil Kumar Yadav have applied for Musheerabad, Jana Reddy's sons Raghuveer Reddy and Jayaveer Reddy have sought the Nagarjunasagar and Miryalaguda seats, D. Seethakka has asked for Mulugu herself and Pinakapa for her son Suryam.

Former TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy has applied for Huzurnagar and for his wife Padmavathi Reddy from Kodad, Regulapati Ramya Rao, daughter of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao’s brother, submitted applications seeking the Karimnagar seat for herself or her son Ritesh Rao.

A young leader, who participated in the TPCC programmes in the Greater Hyderabad area, said that he and another member of his family had applied. "The Congress must encourage candidates who have the winning capability and mass following. If we follow the one-family-one ticket formula, we will not be able to field winning candidates. The Congress has been in the Opposition for nine years and this is the right time to come to power," he said.

The response has been nothing short of impressive, observers said, with a considerable number of aspirants vying for the opportunity to represent the Congress. The applicants included a broad spectrum of individuals ranging from influential leaders to former contenders, aspirants with industrial backgrounds, social activists, and representatives of caste associations.

A festive atmosphere prevailed at Gandhi Bhavan on Friday after a number of leaders turned up along with their followers and submitted their application forms. Each applicant had to submit along with a DD amount of Rs50,000 and Rs25,000 for aspirants from the SC and ST communities.  The process had started on August 18.