
HYDERABAD: As the graduates and teachers constituencies as well as MLAs quota MLC elections are round the corner, the ticket aspirants within the Congress have reportedly intensified lobbying to secure nominations, with most of them making frequent trips to New Delhi to impress the party high command.
The competition is said to be fierce among the ticket aspirants, especially with the younger leaders reminding the leadership of the need to recognise their contribution to the party.
Among prominent young leaders who are seeking MLC nominations are TPCC media and communications committee chairman Sama Ram Mohan Reddy, TPCC secretary Charan Kaushik Yadav, Faheem Qureshi and Musku Ramana Reddy.
This new generation of leaders argue that their inclusion in the legislative bodies would not only further rejuvenate the grand old party but also lay the groundwork for future leadership.
Eyeing Cabinet berths
On the other side, the party’s veteran leaders too are eager to secure MLC nominations as they want to find a place Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s Cabinet, which is likely to be expanded in the near future.
Among the senior leaders who are aspiring for the nomination is the outgoing
Graduates MLC T Jeevan Reddy, who is reportedly seeking a second term through the MLAs’ quota. The other prominent leaders who are reportedly seeking nominations are Anjan Kumar Yadav, T Jayaprakash Reddy alias Jagga Reddy, R Damodar Reddy and Mohammed Shabbir Ali. This is likely to pose a major challenge to the leadership in finalising the nominations.
The fact that the other seniors like Addanki Dayakar, Gali Anil Kumar, SA Sampath Kumar and Ch Vamshi Chand Reddy are also eyeing nominations further complicates the situation for the leadership.
Support to teachers
However, TPCC chief B Mahesh Kumar Goud recently said that the party is considering several names for the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar graduates’ constituency MLC polls, including that of V Narender Reddy, retired DSP Madhanam Gangadhar, Prasanna Harikrishna and Velishala Rajender.
He also indicated that the party might support candidates from teachers’ associations for the teachers’ constituency MLC election. But his statement has not diminished the hopes of other aspirants.
It’s worth noting that in the previous MLC elections, the party high command made last-minute decisions, leading to surprise results.
For instance, Addanki Dayakar, who was initially considered a frontrunner, was unexpectedly dropped in favour of Balmoori Venkat.
With the election schedule expected to be announced in February, it remains to be seen who will manage to impress the high command and succeeded in securing the nominations and ultimately gain entry into the State Legislative Council.