The Congress party in Hyderabad is facing a big task of finalizing candidates for the upcoming State Assembly elections. Despite charging a non-refundable fee of Rs 50,000 for OC and BC candidates and Rs 25,000 for SC and ST candidates to file applications, the party leadership did not expect such a huge response.
Among the more than 1,000 aspirants who have filed applications for Congress party tickets, there are prominent names such as Ramya Rao, a close relative of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, the sons of senior leader K Jana Reddy, film producer Appi Reddy, former MP Madhu Yashki Goud, and Damodar Rajanarasimsha’s daughter.
On the last day of filing applications, the Gandhi Bhavan, the State Congress head office, was flooded with leaders submitting their forms. Ramya Rao and her son Rithesh Rao are seeking tickets from the Karimnagar Assembly segment to counter KCR’s stronghold. Jana Reddy’s sons, Raghuveer Reddy and Jaiveer Reddy, have applied for tickets from Nagarjunasagar and Miryalaguda respectively.
Telugu film producer Appi Reddy is seeking tickets from Kodad and Huzurnagar, where senior leader N Uttam Kumar Reddy and his wife N Padamavathi are also interested in contesting. The party high command may not allot tickets to two members of the same family this time.
Rajanarasimha’s daughter Trisha is vying to contest from Andhol, while Madhu Yashki is demanding a ticket from LB Nagar. Sitakka’s son Suryam is expecting a ticket from Pinapaka.
The party leadership is now faced with the challenge of finalizing candidates from a pool of at least 10 aspirants for each segment. They did not anticipate such a huge response despite the high application fees imposed.
