The Telangana High Court has disqualified Kothagudem MLA Vanama Venkateswara Rao for not providing complete information in his election affidavit. The court has declared Jalagam Venkat Rao as the elected MLA. However, Vanama is seeking a stay on the High Court verdict and has filed an interim application in the Supreme Court. He has also requested a direction to suspend the judgment until he receives a certified copy. Vanama plans to contest the upcoming Assembly elections from Kothagudem.
Jalagam Venkat Rao, on the other hand, has approached Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy to schedule his oath-taking ceremony. As the Speaker was not available, Jalagam submitted his representation to the Assembly Secretary. He has also handed over the 88-page order copy to the Chief Electoral Officer, Vikas Raj. Jalagam believes that the mention of the word “forthwith” in the order copy will allow him to take the oath as MLA.
The BRS party, to which both leaders belong, considers this a politically sensitive issue. Party chief K Chandrashekar Rao is expected to make a decision after careful consideration, which may take some time. The BRS party is not strong in Khammam and faces challenges from the Congress, especially after Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy switched over to the Congress. Additionally, there is groupism within the BRS in the constituency. Therefore, KCR will not rush in deciding who should be given the party ticket. It is worth mentioning that even a bureaucrat is aspiring for a ticket from Khammam.
