Will Bandla Ganesh Get The Rajendranagar Congress Ticket?

Hyderabad: The name of the candidate from Rajendranagar assembly seat has not been announced in the second list of the Congress. Both the Congress and the TDP reckon that they have a winning chance from the constituency. And this adding to the speculation swirling around the seat.

Bandla Ganesh, an ardent Pawan Kalyan fan has joined the Congress and hopes to make it from here.

The TDP, on the other hand, fancies it has a good chance from Rajendranagar considering its candidate, Prakash Goud, who later joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, won from here in 2014. It is something else altogether that the political landscape has since altered drastically. This time around, the TRS has fielded the sitting MLA hoping he would get another term. Does the TDP enjoy the same kind of goodwill it once did?

Meanwhile, former home minister and senior Congress leader Sabitha Indra Reddy has been pushing hard for her son, Karthik Reddy for the Rajendranagar ticket. As Sabitha and Karthik see it, their goodwill in the constituency, coupled with the legacy of Indra Reddy should see them home.

The AIMIM candidate Rahmath Baig hopes to benefit from the splitting of votes between different political parties. Added to this is the fact that Rajendranagar has large Muslim pockets which are likely to vote for MIM.

Meanwhile the BJP has fielded one of its old war horses in Telangana, Baddam Bal Reddy, who commands considerable clout in large swathes of the old city. The big question now being asked is whether the Congress will dig its heels in and insist on fielding its candidate in Rajendranagar or yield to Chandrababu Naidu's pressure and give up the seat. Thus far, Chandrababu has clearly called the shots as far as the Congress lists are concerned and is learned to have made preferred changes which favour the Telugu Desam party. For instance, Congress veteran Marri Shashidhar Reddy not getting the Sanathnagar ticket is being attributed to Chandrababu's influence because the latter reckons that the TDP stands a better chance to take on the TRS candidate and caretaker minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav.

Also Read: Telangana Congress Second List Announced