It’s a desperate chase in the Congress for “right candidates”. The party’s position in Seemandhra hit a new low on Saturday with the leadership forced to scout for candidates in as many as 17 Parliamentary constituencies.
The AP Congress Committee is racking its brains to select the candidates after some of the top leaders bade goodbye to the party. Of the 22 Congress MPs who had won the 2009 elections, 17 switched loyalties leaving the Congress in disarray. Highly-placed APCC sources told The Hindu that the party was talking to seniors to suggest ‘suitable’ persons from their kith and kin.
If Rajya Sabha member T. Subbarami Reddy, wife and daughter are in contention for Visakhapatnam LS seat, social worker Vijayalakshmi has emerged the frontrunner for Anakapalli.
Party in hopeless positionThe party is in a hopeless position unable to find suitable candidates for Rajahmundry, Amalapuram, Rajampet and Chittoor. So much so that former Minister Vatti Vasant Kumar has been asked to suggest a candidate for Eluru after Union Minister Kavuri Sambasiva Rao expressed his reluctance to seek a ticket from the Congress.
The party has touched base with Devineni Nehru or his son Devineni Avinash from Vijayawada. Former Congress MP Badiga Ramakrishna is seeking ticket for one of his family members for Machilipatnam LS seat. Former Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana has been entrusted with the task of finding the candidate for Guntur. Kasu Venkatakrishna Reddy’s task is cut out for Narasaraopet LS seat. The leadership is at its wit’s end in Kadapa and has plans to field a Balija leader from Rajampet.
In Nandyal, the party has almost zeroed in on Kurnool DCC president Ramaiah, a Balija, while Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy is seeking re-election from Kurnool. Anantapur and Hindupur constituencies may witness a BC and a Muslim bagging the coveted ticket. Former Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy or MLC Vakati Narayana Reddy could be cajoled to enter the fray from Nellore LS.
The party is set to retain Killi Kruparani (Srikakulam), Botcha Jhansi (Vizianagaram), Kishore Chandra Deo (Araku), M.M. Pallam Raju (Kakinada), Kanumuri Bapiraju (Narsapur), Chinta Mohan (Tirupati), Panabaka Lakshmi (Bapatla) and Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy (Kurnool).
APCC sources said the list of probables would be ready by April 1 after which party chief N. Raghuveera Reddy would be heading to Delhi. The Assembly list is likely to be finalised by March 31.
