Telangana HC refuses to stay Vanama Venkateswara Rao’s disqualification as Kothagudem MLA

Also read: Court sets aside 2018 poll result of Kothagudem Assembly seat

The high court judgement

On Tuesday, 25 July, Justice G Radha Rani declared Venkateswara Rao’s election as an MLA as void as he had concealed information pertaining to his and his wife’s properties in Form 16, submitted at the time of filing of nomination papers.

The high court also asked Venkateswara Rao to pay a fine of ₹5 lakh.

Jalagam Venakat Rao, who contested on the BRS ticket, filed the petition against Venkateswara Rao who won the election on the Congress ticket on the ground that he had hidden information regarding his properties from declaring them in his election affidavit.

After winning the election Venkateswara Rao joined the BRS in 2019.

Meanwhile, Jalagam Venakta Rao, who has been declared elected from Kothagudem with retrospective effect from 2018, called on Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj on Wednesday and handed over the high court judgement copy to him with a request to him to recognise him as the MLA from Kothagudem.

Related: Miffed at Venkata Reddy, DCC chief quits party to join BRS

‘Will work for the party’

Speaking to media persons after calling on the Assembly secretary to officially inform him of the high court’s order, he said that as BRS MLA he would work for the party in his constituency.

“KCR knows what is happening in my constituency. I have been declared as elected on the BRS ticket,” he said.

Now that Venkat Rao has been declared elected, there is intense speculation as to who would get the party ticket to contest from Kothagudem in the ensuing Assembly elections.

Vanama Venkateswara Rao, though he is very aged, still wants to contest and has been banking on the hope for renomination since KCR had said that all the sitting MLAs would get tickets.

But now, with Venkata Rao being declared elected, it is not known who KCR would prefer this time.

In fact, Director of Public Health Gadala Srinivasa Rao has been eyeing the party ticket to contest from Kothagudem. He has been making comments about Venkateswara Rao, asking him to retire.

He recalled Venkateswara Rao, in the run-up to elections in 2018, saying that it was his last election and therefore he should keep his word and take rest.