After the initial euphoria, followers of Devineni Rajasekhar, alias, Nehru seem to be in a state of shock. They celebrated when the Congress high-command nominated Rajasekhar’s son Avinash, as the party’s candidate for the Vijayawada Lok Sabha seat a few days ago.
Going by the “one ticket per family” norm of the party, there is every possibility that Nehru may miss the bus this time. He is seeking a ticket to contest from the Vijayawada East Assembly constituency.
The party has been picking only one candidate, when there has been more then one aspirant from a family. Refusing a ticket to former Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, the party decided to give a ticket to her son. Similar was the case with former PCC chief D. Srinivas and his son, who was also aspiring for a Congress ticket. The high command decided to select Mr. Srinivas while ignoring the candidature of his son.
However, there seem to some exceptions to this rule for those who are already holding office such as members of the Botcha and Anam families and the party will therefore give them the ticket to contest again.
But coming to Mr. Rajasekhar, the scene may change as the party has already given his son Mr. Avinash, the ticket. According to party sources, there is every possibility that the high command may drop Mr. Rajasekhar’s name.
This aspect has triggered a debate in the local party circles, with a few leaders saying that when it comes to the father and the son, the chances of Mr. Rajasekhar, a seasoned politician, winning the elections are better than that of his 26-year-old son. Senior party leaders say Mr. Rajasekhar is a deserving candidate and feel the “one family, one ticket” norm may send a wrong signal as winning is what matters in the end.
They say it will be better if Mr. Avinash makes way for his father because “it is difficult to predict the youngster’s chances of winning. More so he has age on his side.”
However, supporters say Mr. Rajasekhar may get the ticket because he has been playing a key role in helping the party decide on nominees in Krishna district. “When two tickets can be given to Meesala Rajeswara Rao’s family, why can’t Rajasekhar get it,” a senior leader said.
