Ticket to defector sparks protest by supporters of Congress leader

Hyderabad, Nov 7:  Supporters of Congress leader Kata Srinivas Goud staged protest at the party headquarters and also at the residence of Telangana Congress chief A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday in protest against the allotment of party ticket from Patancheru to Nilam Madhu Mudiraj.

Tension prevailed at Gandhi Bhavan, the headquarters of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) as supporters of Srinivas Goud staged a protest. They raised slogans demanding the leadership to change their decision and allot ticket to their leader.

Police detained the protestors and whisked them away. Later, senior party leader and former deputy chief minister Damodar Rajanarasimha spoke to the protestors over phone and pacified them.

Earlier, Goud’s supporters also staged a protest outside the house of TPCC president Revanth Reddy in posh Jubilee Hills. They raised slogans against Revanth Reddy blaming him for denying ticket to their leader.

Meanwhile, Goud’s supporters in Patancheru set afire a party flexi in protest against the party allotting ticket to Madhu.

Madhu had resigned from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) last month after the ruling party denied him the ticket. The ruling party once again fielded sitting MLA G. Mahipal Reddy. Madhu joined the Congress party on October 28.

However, the decision of the Congress party to give ticket to Madhu has evoked strong opposition from Srinivas Goud, who had unsuccessfully contested on Congress ticket in the 2018 election.

The Central Election Committee of the party on Monday announced third list of party candidates. A total of 16 names were declared. The party changed the candidates for Boath (ST) and Wanaparthy constituencies.

The Congress has so far announced candidates for 112 out of 119 seats.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Bellaiah Naik Tejavath has threatened to sit on an indefinite hunger strike at Gandhi Bhavan to demand party ticket from Kodangal. Bellaiah Naik’s supporters were detained by police at Gandhi Bhavan. He said since the party did not accept his requests to field him from Mahabubabad or Dornakal and Yellandu, he was demanding a ticket from Kodangal.

Revanth Reddy is contesting from Kodangal. The Congress party has also fielded him from Kamareddy against Chief Minister K. Chanddrasekhar Rao.