Hyderabad: To the disappointment of senior Congress leaders, the high command has strictly implemented the one family-one ticket rule. Senior leader K. Jana Reddy failed to get a ticket for his son despite a last-ditch request to the Central election committee before it met Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
Mr Jana Reddy will contest from Nagarjunasagar and wanted Miryalaguda for his son Raghuveer Reddy. At one stage, he had thought to shifting to Miryalaguda and vacating his home constituency for his son.
Former minister D.K. Aruna who will contest from Gadwal wanted the Mahbubnagar Assembly ticket for her daughter Snigdha Reddy. Former minister Dr J. Geetha Reddy, contesting from Zaheerabad, had lobbied for Medak for daughter Meghana Reddy.
Mr Gandra Venkataramana Reddy, the Bhupalpally candidate, had proposed the name of his wife Jyothi, former minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah for his daughter-in-law. Former minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, contesting from Maheswaram, had proposed her son Karthik Reddy for Rajendranagar.
Some other senior leaders like former deputy chief minister Damodar Raja Narasimha also proposed their family members for Congress tickets. All of them may be disappointed.
The high command has nominated family members who had been elected in the past. TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy won from Huzurabad and his wife Padmavathi from Kodada in 2014 and both were given tickets. Mr Komatireddy Venkatareddy was elected from the Nalgonda Assembly constituency and his brother Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy was defeated from the Bhongir Lok Sabha seat. Both have been nominated for the Assembly elections.
TPCC campaign committee chairman Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka was given Madhira and his brother and former MP Mallu Ravi Jedcherla. Apart from these, five former MPs were given Assembly tickets — Ponnam Prabhakar (Karimnagar), Balaram Naik (Mahbubabad) Sarve Satyanarayana (Secunderabad cantonment), Suresh Shetkar (Narayankhed) and Ramesh Rathod (Khanapur).
The Congress central election committee has to finalise candidates for 19 Assembly seats. In 12 constituencies there are more than one candidate are seeking tickets.
For example both Mr Premsagar Rao and Mr Aravind Reddy want the Manchiryal seat, Nizamabad Urban is being sought by Mr Mahesh Goud and Mr A. Narsireddy and Nizamabad Rural by Mr R. Bhoopathi Reddy and Mr Venkateswara Rao.
