Congress, BJP launch preparations for election

An early election in December anticipated

Senior Congress leaders C. Ramchander Reddy and Naresh Jadhav at the ‘Gadapa-Gadapa ku’ Congress campaign in Adilabad.

When the time comes for selection of candidates for the next election, the Congress will probably face the biggest challenge in sifting through the aspirants in the 10 Assembly constituencies in old united Adilabad district, of whom there is a likelihood of being several in every seat. As the party high command has asked leaders to make preparations for an early election, December is when the leaders were told the Union government will hold election for Parliament and possibly State Assembly’, leaving almost all aspirants ‘combat ready’ at this stage.

For instance, TPCC women’s wing secretary G. Sujatha, AICC member Bhargav Deshpande and former District Congress Committee president C. Ramchander Reddy, who are known to be in the race for a party nomination for Adilabad Assembly seat, have individually started their door-to-door mass contact programme earlier this year and so seem better placed than their probable rivals from other parties.

“Yes, we have been clearly told by our high command to be ready for elections in December,” said Adilabad DCC working president Naresh Jadhav. “And we have reciprocated by covering much ground in the manner of election campaign at this stage,” added the leader who himself will seek ticket for Adilabad Lok Sabha constituency.

Likewise, in the case of Adilabad, there three aspirants are expected to stake claim for a party ticket in Boath (ST) Assembly constituency, which includes the former MLA Soyam Bapu Rao, the head of Adivasi Hakkula Porata Samithi also known as Tudum Debba – the centre of the Adivasi movement to expel Lambada tribe from the list of Scheduled Tribes. In other constituencies only two are likely to seek party nomination but the exercise will be tough given the background of aspirants.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is also ready for election in constituencies like Adilabad and Mudhole. Adilabad BJP district president Payal Shankar and party leader from Mudhole Dr. Rama Devi, the latter already declared as party’s candidate for that constituency, have also taken up mass contact programmes at equally rigorous level across respective constituencies. “Our party is also in favour of allocating three seats of the four reserved for STs (3 MLA and one Parliamentary) to Adivasis which is a departure from the past. We have strong aspirants in these constituencies,” Mr. Shankar said.

TRS aspirants

The ruling party has had no such activity of aspirants trying for party nominations as the Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar has declared that sitting MLAs and MPs will be given tickets.

In Adilabad, however, Mr. Rao’s unstinting praise of the Telangana State Dairy Development Corporation Chairman Loka Bhooma Reddy during his February 27 visit was taken as a hint that he could be given the ticket for Adilabad Assembly constituency in the next election.