Will Prakash Goud Of TRS Retain Rajendra Nagar?

Hyderabad: T. Prakash Goud, the sitting MLA from Rajendra Nagar constituency could find the going tough this time around. It may be recalled that in 2014 Goud had contested on a TDP ticket and had won over Gnaneshwar of the Congress by a comfortable majority of nearly 26,000 votes. The MIM candidate at that time, Zakir Hussain Javid made it to the third place with 49,000 plus votes. The TRS candidate from the constituency, A. Swarnalatha Reddy, came a poor fourth with 13% of the vote share. The winning candidate Goud, later moved over to the ruling TRS.

It is now being speculated that Sabitha Indra Reddy may be fielded by the Congress from this constituency in which case the entire game would alter sharply. A heavyweight leader with tremendous goodwill she can tilt the scales in the party's favour. It must be remembered that her husband,former minister Indra Reddy, whose political career was cut short in a tragic accident, enjoyed tremendous popularity in the entire Chevella parliamentary constituency.

It is also being rumoured that Sabitha Indra Reddy wants the ticket to be given to her son, Karthik Reddy, who does not enjoy the same level of popularity. He is a relative lightweight and will not pose the kind of electoral challenge his mother would.

Prakash Goud is a fairly popular leader at the ground level, but in a contest with someone of the standing of Sabitha Indra Reddy, can he pull off a win, is a big question? The MIM could add to his woes, as its candidate is bound to cut into the TRS vote base. Moreover, the BJP even if it makes to the fourth place is not likely to make things any easy for the TRS candidate from Rajendra Nagar.

Rajendra Nagar with its semi-urban nature, can throw up challenges which the TRS has not entirely anticipated. It remains to be seen how it actually plays out when the final list of Congress candidates is released.

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