HYDERABAD: TDP TS unit working president A Revanth Reddy is likely to be fielded by the opposition parties as their “common” candidate against TRS nominee if bypoll is held for the Nalgonda Lok Sabha seat which is, at present being held by Gutta Sukhender Reddy, who had crossed over to the ruling TRS after winning on Congress ticket in the 2014 general election.After dropping enough hints that they would continue their friendship forged for the ensuing Singareni employees union elections even for the 2019 general election against the TRS, the Congress, TDP and Left parties are toying with the idea of fielding a common candidate if a byelection is held for the Nalgonda Lok Sabha seat.
According to sources, since the Nalgonda LS constituency is dominated by influential Reddys, the opposition parties favour fielding Revanth, who has emerged as the main opponent to the policies of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. Revanth too made it clear that he was ready to take on the TRS if it planned to opt for bypoll for Nalgonda LS seat. “I am ready to contest from any constituency against TRS candidates if bypolls are held for any LS or Assembly seat in the state. I don’t flinch from contesting any seat as the common candidate of all opposition parties if my party’s central leadership wants me to do so,” the TDP MLA said while interacting with mediapersons at Bhupalpally on Friday.
According to sources, in the wake of reports that the chief minister may appoint Sukhender Reddy as head of the State Level Farmers’ Coordination Committee, thus necessitating bypoll in Nalgonda, there is wide debate in the Congress on who should be nominated as the party’s candidate in the byelection. If a candidate belonging to TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy’s group is named, Uttam’s detractors, particularly Komatireddy brothers, may not cooperate and vice versa. Therefore, some leaders back the idea of fielding a neutral or common opposition candidate.
“If at all bypoll is held for Nalgonda LS seat, it would be a golden opportunity to the opposition parties to defeat the ruling party. Fielding a combined candidate is a good move to avoid split in the anti-establishment vote,” a Congress leader said.
Factors favouring Revanth
In the 2014 general election, TDP stood second in a majority of the seven Assembly segments of Nalgonda LS constituency. If Revanth is fielded, Congress factions belonging to Jana Reddy, Uttam Kumar Reddy and Komatireddy brothers will back him. Left parties too have got considerable support base in the constituency and a common candidate is likely to benefit from this vote bank.