No rush to announce party candidate for Munugode bypolls: Revanth

HYDERABAD: With speculation doing the rounds that Congress would be finalising either Palvai Sravanthi or Chalammala Krishna Reddy  as the party's
candidate in the Munugode byelection, TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy
questioned why there was such a rush to announce the party's candidate when
other political parties had yet to do so.

"He (Amit Shah) came from Delhi, and KCR came from Pragathi Bhavan; did
anyone announce their party candidate? Or, at the very least, let me know if
the Election Commission has announced any dates. The party will make a
decision at the appropriate time that will be entirely focused on winning
the election,” Revanth Reddy stated at a press briefing at Gandhi Bhavan.

The TPCC president said the Congress had a strong presence in the Munugode
constituency and had devised its own strategies to give a tough fight to
both the TRS and the BJP. According to him, the party has aggressively
organised public meetings in the constituency, visited 175 villages, met
with several local leaders, and appointed two seniors as in-charges of each
mandal.

"Despite this, why is there a debate that the party is falling behind? These
are all rumours concocted by the ruling party. Congress remains the
frontrunner, with its own set of strategies. Congress will not fall into
the trap that its opponents have set. The rivals are attempting to create a
situation in which Congress is forced to announce the candidate, and they
may employ their own strategy. A party with our level of experience will
undoubtedly have its own strategy,” he remarked.

Responding to BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar's padayatra, which may
pass through his Parliamentary constituency, Revanth Reddy stated that the
BJP leader will be confronted with some critical issues faced by the people
in their daily lives. "I hope Bandi will respond to public questions about
important issues such as inflation, the rise of commodities prices, and the
implementation of GST. He may lose his kneecaps and any remaining hair on
his head because his tour will not bring anything significant to Telangana,”
he ridiculed.

Revanth Reddy stated that Congress will begin reaching out to voters on
the ground on September 1 and would expose both the TRS and the BJP for
completely sidelining important issues of public concern and diverting the
debate to communal issues.

"Regardless of what is being touted, we will highlight how Telangana and
Gujarat models of development have failed the people," he asserted.

Former PCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy stated that the AICC will decide on Munugode's candidate soon. Both leaders strongly condemned former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's statements against the party and its leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. On the suspension of Goshamahal legislator T. Raja Singh by the BJP, he remarked, "He is unfit to be an MLA and should have been kicked out of the Assembly by now."