Gandra Jyothy sets eyes on podium finish in warangal

Warangal: Gandra Jyothy, wife of Bhupalpally MLA Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy, on Friday made her first strides to become the chairperson of Warangal Rural Zilla Parishad by jumping into the electoral battle from Shayampet zilla parishad territorial constituency (ZPTC). It was no surprise in local political circles as it has been speculated widely that Jyothy would be given Warangal Rural ZP chief post in lieu if she and her husband Reddy join the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

As predicted, Gandra couple announced their willingness to join the TRS a few days ago. Against this backdrop, Jyothy filed her nomination papers for Shayampet ZPTC on Friday, soon after formally joining the TRS in the presence of Minister for Panchayat Raj Errabelli Dayakar Rao and former Speaker Sirikonda Madhusudana Chary.

It may be mentioned here that Jyothy, who is a voter in Bhupalpally, had applied to register herself as a voter in Shayampet mandal of Warangal Rural district, a few days ago. This triggered the speculation that she was in the race for ZP chief post from Rural district

Jyothy's move to register herself as a voter in Shayampet mandal of Warangal Rural district a few days ago triggered the speculation that she was in the race for Rural ZP chief post. Earlier, Jyothy was a voter in Bhupalpally town until recently. With Jayashankar-Bhupalpally ZP chairman post was reserved for Scheduled Castes, Jyothy shifted her base to Warangal Rural district so that she can try for ZP chief post which is reserved for general women.

"Even though they reiterated time and gain that they were not power hungry, the development shows that Gandra couple struck a 'deal' beforehand. The Congress leadership gave them a lot of prominence by appointing Jyothy as the Jayashankar-Bhupalpally DCC president and making Reddy the in-charge for Warangal Lok Sabha seat," a senior Congress leader told The Hans India.

On the other hand, the entry of Gandra Jyothy to TRS fold is likely to dash the hopes of Swapna, wife of Narsampet MLA Peddi Sudarshan Reddy and Challa Jyothy, wife of Parkal MLA Challa Dharma Reddy who also aspiring for Warangal Rural ZP chief post.