The Congress on Monday, November 6, released its third list of 16 candidates for the upcoming November 30 Assembly elections. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A Revanth Reddy was named as the electoral candidate from Kamareddy, where he will face Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR). Revanth was earlier also nominated from Kodangal. The party’s third list was delayed due to the return of ex-MP G Vivekanand, who on November 1, quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and rejoined the Congress. He has been allotted the Chennur seat, which the Communist Party of India (CPI) was expecting to get as part of its alliance with the Congress.
The CPI has finally settled for the Kothagudem MLA seat, apart from two MLC seats that will be given to them later as part of the seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress, said a senior CPI leader. The Congress’s third list also has named ex-minister Shabbir Ali for the Nizamabad (Urban) seat, which is believed to have about 30% of Muslim voters. This seat was earlier expected to be given to TPCC working president Mahesh Goud.
“They have left the Kothagudem seat for us and said they will give us two MLC seats later. We don’t have vertical divisions in the party like the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI(M)) and took a unanimous decision to stay with the alliance,” the CPI leader told TNM.
On Monday, the CPI(M), which had earlier declared 14 candidates, also released the names of two more candidates. The CPI(M) was earlier in talks with Congress regarding seat-sharing. Its leaders had asked for two seats and quit the alliance after the Congress refused them the constituencies the party wanted.
The seats for which candidates were declared in its third list of the Congress are: Chennur (SC), Boath (ST), Jukkal (SC), Banswada, Kamareddy, Nizamabad (urban), Karimnagar, Sircilla, Narayankhed, Patancheru, Wanaparthy, Dornakal (ST), Yellandu (ST), Wyra (ST), Sathupalle (SC) , and Aswarappeta (ST). Apart from KCR facing Revath Reddy in Kamareddy, the BRS supremo will also face his former aide and ex-BRS minister Eatala Rajender from the Gajwel seat.
KCR is the sitting MLA from the Gajwel seat. The BRS chief surprised everyone when he announced in August that he would be contesting from the Gajwel and Kamareddy seats. Congress leader Shabbir Ali was originally expected to be given the Kamareddy seat.
In the 2018 state elections, the BRS won 88 out of 119 seats, while the Congress, which formed an alliance with the Telugu Desam Party and other parties, won 19 seats. The TDP won only two seats, while the BJP could win just one seat. The Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen retained its seven seats.