In a huge rally of hundreds of cars, Nandini arrived at the Congress headquarters in Hyderabad to apply for the Khammam Lok Sabha seat ticket.
Published Feb 03, 2024 | 9:44 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 03, 2024 | 9:44 PM
Nandini Mallu applying for a Congress ticket to contest to the Lok Sabha from Khammam. (Supplied)
Telangana’s Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka’s wife Nandini Mallu took out a huge car rally on Saturday, 3 February, to apply for a Congress ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Khammam.
She led the huge rally of hundreds of cars, according to claims, from Khammam to Hyderabad on the last day for applying for the party tickets.
Congress sources said the party has received 140 applications for the 17 Lok Sabha seats.
Speaking to the media, Nandini conveyed her intention to represent the issues of the people in Parliament and added that her goal was not to engage in competition with other political leaders.
However, the Khammam seat might become a headache for the Congress with several leaders and their relatives eyeing the constituency.
Besides Nandini, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy’s brother Ponguleti Prasad Reddy, Tummala Yugender, son of Tummala Nageswara Rao, who joined the Congress from the BRS in September last, former Union minister Renuka Chowdhary and former MP V Hanumantha Rao, too, have applied for a ticket from the constituency.
With the Kamma community being the dominant caste in the Khammam district, Yudendra and Renuka Chowdhary could be the frontrunners for the seat. The BRS, meanwhile, might field its sitting MP, Namma Nageshwar Rao.
Additionally, Nageshwar Rao, owner of an infrastructure firm, Madhucon, has a significant clout in the constituency.
However, BRS sources said nothing has been finalised. They did not rule out the possibility of KCR fielding some other candidate.
Sources hinted that Vaddiraju Ravichandra, the chairman of the Gayatri Group and the President of the Telangana Granite Quarry Owners Association, could be a potential candidate. They also did not rule out the possibility of the party nominating a surprise candidate.
Meanwhile, former bureaucrat Dr Gadala Srinivasa Rao entered the race for the Khammam seat. Dr Srinivasa Rao, who previously served as the Director of the Public Health and Welfare department, has been expecting the support of BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao.
He had drawn flak for seeking blessings by touching KCR’s feet while in service, which was perceived as a move to secure political gains. Incidentally, KCR had not blessed him with the Khammam seat, and he applied for it personally.
The BRS would be announcing its candidates gradually, unlike it did much in advance for the Assembly election.
In 2019, the BRS won nine seats, the BJP four, Congress three, and AIMIM one.
