The resignation of A. Revanth Reddy from the Telugu Desam Party has thrown up interesting prospects for ruling TRS to gear up for by-election in Kodangal constituency, represented by Mr. Reddy.
His resignation is viewed as a tool by the TRS to inflict twin blows - to decimate Mr. Reddy politically, as he is the most vocal against Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, by defeating him in the by-election and thereby, show in poor light the Congress which has welcomed him. The general election of 2019 will be only a year away from when the by-poll takes place.
The TRS leaders have started discussing names of candidates who might be fielded. Prominent among them was P. Narender Reddy, MLC, and brother of Transport Minister P. Mahender Reddy. His name cropped up ahead of Mr. Gurunath Reddy who was the TRS candidate and lost to Mr. Revanth Reddy in 2014 general election.
Kodangal Assembly constituency has five mandals, of which three - Daulatabad, Bomraspet and Kodangal - were transferred to Vikarabad district which is the home turf of Transport Minister.
The resignation of Mr. Reddy reinforced speculation about TRS - Telugu Desam alliance in 2019 polls to check leaders from the TDP joining the Congress, but senior leaders ruled out the possibility as TRS would want another regional party like the TDP to be wiped out from political space in Telangana. Moreover, the TRS had always branded TDP as an ‘Andhra party’ before the formation of State.
Alliance would be mutually beneficial to the TDP and TRS as the former still had party cadre in pockets. It was argued that the TDP and BJP together had won 20 seats in alliance at the peak of separate Telangana movement in 2014.
