In a surprise move, Congress may field its TPCC president and Huzurnagar MLA N. Uttam Kumar Reddy from Nalgonda Parliament constituency.
Sources said Mr. Reddy indicated that he would be ready to give a tough fight to his opponent from TRS as the ruling party was desperate to win the seat. Though the Congress is yet to officially announce his name, the TPCC president is keen on sending a strong message to the cadre proposing himself as the candidate for the contest.
Though former Minister Komatireddy Venkata Reddy was initially interested in Nalgonda seat, he later showed his inclination towards Bhongir constituency, as his brother Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy is an MLA from Munugode that falls under Bhongir Parliament area. Moreover, Mr. Rajgopal Reddy earlier represented Bhongir in the Parliament on Congress party ticket.
Nalgonda district was considered a Congress bastion all these years, but the TRS made inroads into the district in the last Assembly elections defeating Congress heavyweights Mr. Venkata Reddy in Naglonda and CLP leader K. Jana Reddy in Nagarjunasagar. TRS Minister G. Jagadeesh Reddy too retained his Suryapet seat with a slender margin. However, the ruling party lost Nakirekal and Munugode constituencies that it earlier held. But Congress MLA Churimarti Lingaiah has now decided to cross over to the TRS.
Mr. Reddy apparently expressed his willingness not only to revive the party in the district, but ensure that the party activists, who are upset with the recent defections, gain confidence. His wife, N. Padmavathi, lost the Kodad seat with a slender margin this time compared to heavy margins that the party candidates suffered in other places. Though Congress holds just one of the seven Assembly constituencies under Nalgonda Parliament, Mr. Reddy feels that the party still has an edge.