Congress names contestants for Lok Sabha seats; causes flutter, confusion with second ‘first’ list

HYDERABAD: The Congress has done it again. It first released a list of 36 candidates and announced three names that were kept on hold. Hours after, it released a list of 39 candidates.

Intriguingly, the name of Patnam Sunitha Mahender Reddy, Zilla Parishad chairperson of Vikarabad district, whose name figured in the list of 26 confirmed candidates list conspicuously disappeared in the list released later.

The first list had four names from Telangana.

• Porika Balaram Naik -- Mahabubabad

• Kunduru Raghuveer Reddy – Nalgonda

• Suresh Sehtkar – Zaheerabad

• Challa Vamsichand Reddy - mahbubnagar

Initially in this list, the name of Challa Vamsichand Reddy, whose name was announced by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy the other day at a public meeting as the Congress nominee from Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha constituency, was shown under the category of “seats on hold”.

What could have triggered the instant retraction of the list is anybody’s guess.

The second list which is the “first official list” has the name Vamsichand Reddy.

Sunitha Mahender Reddy may be fielded as the Congress nominee from Chevella. It’s with that promise that former Minister Mahender Reddy had joined the Congress along with his wife. By dropping her name in. the final first list, the Congress ignited a speculation on the probables from Chevella Lok Sabha seat.

Meanwhile, the party had fully satisfied senior leader and former minister Kunduru Jana Reddy. The Congress high command gave Nalgonda Lok Sabha seat to his son Raghuveer Reddy. Jana Reddy’s another son Jaiveer Reddy was given the party ticket from Nagarjunasagar Assembly seat.

Patel Ramesh Reddy who aspired for Nalgonda Lok Sabha seat was denied the ticket. In fact, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal had gone to his residence and assured him of Nalgonda Lok Sabha seat. It’s with this assurance that he had conceded his Suryapet Assembly seat to Ramreddy Damodar Reddy. However, the Lok Sabha seat was given to Jana Reddy, erupting heartburn among Ramesh Reddy and his supporters.

Choice of Balaram Naik from Mahabubabad, Vamsichand Reddy from Mahabubnagar and Suresh Shetkar from Zaheerabad did not cause any flutter yet within the Congress.

The four candidates from Telangana were considered lucky to have found their names in the list in which Rahul Gandhi’s name figured from Wayanad.

In fact, Revanth Reddy meticulously urged Rahul Gandhi contest either from Khammam or Bhuvanagiri Lok Sabha seats with a view to containing the aspirations of his Cabinet colleagues to field their family members in the fray.