The Congress has almost zeroed in on former Minister V. Sunitha Laxma Reddy as the candidate for by-elections to the Medak parliamentary constituency.
The AICC leadership will officially announce her name on Tuesday to enable her to file the nomination. A majority of the party leaders during interaction with the AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh backed her candidature though Ms. Sunitha Laxma Reddy had expressed reluctance citing inability to spend a huge amount for electioneering.
“The party examined the names of close to a dozen leaders but preferred Ms. Sunitha Laxma Reddy because of her clean image. She can give a tough fight to rival parties,” a top Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee functionary said.
Initially, former Deputy Chief Minister C. Damodar Raj Narasimha, Medak DCCB chairman Jaipal Reddy, former Union Minister Sarvey Satyanarayana, TPCC leaders A. Shyam Mohan and C. Srinivas Rao aspired for the ticket. Congress leaders, after weighing several options, decided to consider Ms. Sunitha Laxma Reddy’s name.
Congress leaders are confident that the situation in April when the general elections were held was totally different. Now, there is a considerable change in the mood of the voters, particularly the farmers, who are worried about the crop loan waiver.
“TRS and BJP put up good show because of the emotion and strong sentiment for a separate State,” a former Minister said, pointing out that the outcome of the by-elections in Karnataka, Punjab and Bihar would be replicated here also. “Today’s results shows that Congress has done well and the popularity of BJP is on the slide,” the leader pointed out.
Party leaders are banking on the clean image of Ms. Sunitha Laxma Reddy and her contribution to the district as a Minister. Moreover, she had represented Narsapur Assembly constituency, which is part of Medak parliamentary constituency. Another factor Congress feels could tilt the balance in the party’s favour is the sizeable presence of the Reddy community in Narsapur, Dubbak, Sangareddy and Patancheru constituencies.
TPCC vice-president Md. Ali Shabbir said that the Medak by-elections would give party workers a chance to prove their mettle.
