KHAMMAM: Former minister Thummala Nageswara Rao who is expecting to bag Palair Assembly ticket is facing stiff competition from other Congress leaders in the constituency. He joined the Congress from the BRS after CM K Chandrasekhar Rao dropped him from the list of candidates and renominated the sitting MLA Kandala Upender Reddy for the Palair seat. Upender Reddy who won on the Congress ticket later joined the ruling party.
Senior leader Royala Nageswara Rao, who contested from the constituency on the Prajarajyam ticket in the 2014 election and joined the Congress after tasting defeat, is the main rival of the former minister. He also made a vain attempt to enter the Legislative Council as a Congress candidate.
Royala accuses Thummala of working against the Congress and removing the party flags in his native village of Gandugulapalli. There is no way of the party workers accepting Thummala’s candidature, contends Roayala.