Hyderabad: The Congress party’s candidate selection process continues to be marred with controversies now with the party’s call to replace its candidate for Patancheru hours before the end of the Election Commission’s (EC) official time to submit a nomination on Friday, November 10.
The party had initially nominated Nilam Madhu Mudhiraj, a BRS turncoat as its candidate from the constituency. But on Thursday night, November 9, along with its final list of candidates, it announced a replacement for Patancheru in Kata Sreenivas Goud.
Just a few days ago, Kata Sreenivas Goud’s supporters were on the road in the constituency protesting against the nonallocation of ticket to their leader with slogans against TPCC chief A Revanth Reddy and the Congress party itself.
Supporters of Sreenivas Goud also staged a protest at the party headquarters and at the residence of Telangana Congress chief A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday.
Tension prevailed at Gandhi Bhavan, the headquarters of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) as supporters of Sreenivas Goud staged a protest. They raised slogans demanding the leadership to change their decision and allot ticket to their leader.
Goud’s supporters in Patancheru even set a party flexi on fire in protest against the party allotting ticket to Madhu.
Nilam Madhu now joins BSP
After the allocation and subsequent decision of the Congress to take back its ticket, Nilam Madhu Mudhiraj along with his supporters protested on the road on Thursday night and cried foul over the development.
Blaming Congress senior leader Damodar Raja Narasimha for this development, Madhu said that the party cheated him after he spent resources on campaigning in the constituency.
He further said that the party had betrayed the Backward Classes (BC) and in particular, the Mudhiraj community with this decision.
But on Thursday, he joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BJP) and filed for nomination as the party’s candidate for the party.
The BRS has renominated its sitting MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy from Patancheru. With the controversy around candidates’ selection here, the stakes of the contest have gone up.
Telangana is going to the polls on November 30.
