HYDERABAD: The Congress party, which was looking like a divided house before announcement of its candidate for the Huzurnagar Assembly bypoll, is displaying a rare unity in an attempt to retain the seat. Almost all the top leaders, including party working president and MP A Revanth Reddy and Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, who are having differences with TPCC president and Nalgonda MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy, whose wife Padmavathi Reddy is the party candidate, are also cooperating with him and have assured full support to the candidate.
The Huzurnagar bypoll is scheduled for October 21. Venkat Reddy had already started his campaigning in Huzurnagar and Revanth Reddy would be campaigning on October 18 and 19. CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, senior Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha member V Hanumanth Rao, former opposition leader in Legislative Council Mohammad Ali Shabbir, former minister K Jana Reddy, former MP Ponnam Prabhakar, MLAs D Sridhar Babu, Danasri Anusuyya alias Seethakka, former PCC chief Ponnala Lakshmaiah and vice-president Mallu Ravi have been campaigning in the constituency for the last few days.
Earlier it appeared as if most of the senior leaders would stay away from the campaigning as Revanth Reddy questioned Uttam announcing his wife’s name as the party’s candidate before being finalised by the party high command.
He even demanded the AICC to take disciplinary action against the TPCC chief. Moreover, when Revanth stayed away from party candidate’s nomination filing day, where all the top leaders of the party were present, it was believed that he would not campaign for Padmavathi. But after the intervention of party high command, Revanth reportedly agreed to campaign in Huzurnagar.
Similarly Komatireddy, who is in the race for TPCC chief post, too initially looked reluctant to campaign as his brother and Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy has been targeting Uttam and it looked as if the two brothers would stay away from Huzurnagar, but later on he agreed to do join others to campaign in the constituency.
The Congress, which was expecting a tough fight from the TRS, is sounding confident of winning the seat as there is a change in the political scenario due to the ongoing RTC strike. The leaders have started using the strike to its advantage during campaigning.
The party leadership believes that if it takes up intensive campaigning it could easily win the bypoll. The party leaders successfully isolated the TRS and even forced CPI to reconsider it’s decision to support the former. Going by the present situation it looks like Congress is in a position of advantage.
In a position of advantage?
The party leadership believes that if it takes up intensive campaigning it could easily win the Huzurnagar bypoll. Going by the present situation it looks like Congress is in a position of advantage