KHAMMAM: The aspirants for Congress ticket in Khammam Lok Sabha constituency were relieved when it became known that party senior leader Sonia Gandhi and former Union minister Renuka Chowdhury would seek election to Rajya Sabha.
They were unsure whether they would get the ticket for the Lok Sabha election in the wake of reports that Sonia and Renuka might contest for Lok Sabha from Khammam.
Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy's brother Prasada Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka's wife Mallu Nandini are the frontrunners for the ticket.
Though there is District Congress Committee president P Durga Prasad, businessman V Rajendra Prasad and party’s state official spokesperson Maddi Srinivasa Reddy are also among the aspirants, Prasad Reddy and Nandini are ahead of them in the race for the ticket.
According to sources, the party may not field Nandini after she made some unpalatable comments on the party leadership for not making her husband Batti Vikramarka the chief minister of the state.
Prasada Reddy has a fair chance of getting the ticket as his brother Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy played a key role in helping the party win nine of the 10 Assembly seats in the district in recent elections.
The party workers believe that Prasad Reddy has a better chance than Nandini in winning the election. "Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy's image in the district would easily help his brother win the election," said party leaders T Brahmaiah and Muvva Vijaya Babu.