HYDERABAD: The decision to welcome Malkajgiri MLA Mynampally Hanumantha Rao into its fold, by promising tickets to him and his son Rohit to contest in the upcoming elections, seems to have stirred a hornet’s nest in the Congress.
Several senior leaders, who until now were reminded about the party’s “one family, one ticket” policy adopted under its Udaipur Declaration, have started lobbying for more than one ticket for their families.
Many of them were perplexed when the party offered two tickets to Mynampally’s family, ignoring its “one family, one ticket” rule, which was adopted in an attempt to stop the rivals from calling it a “dynastic” party.
Among the prominent leaders who are now seeking tickets for their family members are former minister K Jana Reddy, Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Damodar Raja Narasimha, TPCC working president T Jayaprakash Reddy, MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy, former minister Konda Surekha, and senior leader K Premsagar Rao. While Jana Reddy is lobbying for tickets for his sons in Nagarjuna Sagar and Miryalaguda segments, Uttam is seeking a ticket for his wife Padmavathi and Jayaprakash Reddy, alias Jagga Reddy, is seeking one for his daughter Jaya.
Raja Narasimha wants a ticket for his daughter, Konda Surekha for her husband and Premsagar Rao for his wife. While these leaders initially maintained a degree of silence, their recent flurry of activity is linked to TPCC president A Revanth Reddy announcing two tickets to Mynampally’s family, citing “winnability” as the main criteria for candidate selection.
They argue that their track record and popularity also make their family members formidable candidates, capable of securing victory for the party. The State Congress leaders, meanwhile, have launched their own lobbying campaigns in Delhi seeking support for their family members.