Buzz on weak prospects for Congress keeps CM on the edge

Hyderabad: With Congress facing tough times in Malkajgiri and Mahbubnagar, the party’s prospects appear to be weak. The Chief Minister, who considers both Parliament segments as prestigious, remains perturbed. Given the fact that Malkajgiri was earlier represented by Revanth as MP and Mahbubnagar incorporated his present Kodangal constituency, he is spending more energy to woo the constituents.

Following the intelligence inputs that the senior BJP leaders contesting from these constituencies, Eatala Rajender (Malkajgiri) and D K Aruna (Mahbubnagar), have an edge, CM has doubled down on his efforts. These two constituencies are included in the list of five that have been regularly mentioned by Revanth Reddy during his public meetings for the past couple of weeks, the other three being Chevella, Zaheerabad, and Bhongir. Following Medchal MLA Malla Reddy's assertions that Eatala was winning from Malkajgiri, a fresh debate over the relationship between the BRS and BJP arose. Revanth Reddy's frustration was visible during Saturday’s press conference when he questioned the BRS top brass of delay over initiating action against Malla Reddy.

According to sources, Mahbubnagar candidate Challa Vamshi Chand Reddy, who was the first to be named among the 17 Lok Sabha candidates, continues to face a tough time owing to his failure to get proper support from some of the local Congress MLAs and senior leaders. This is one of the reasons that Revanth Reddy has increased visits to the constituency in recent days. Besides this, the drought-like situation has triggered some negative perception, which is now being tried to cash in by BJP candidate D K Aruna. Both the former MLAs had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. With 1.93 lakh votes, Vamshi Chand stood in third place, while Aruna was the runner up with more than 3.3 lakh votes, as Manne Srinivas Reddy from BRS had won with more than four lakh votes.

In Malkajgiri, Patnam Sunitha Mahender Reddy faces significant challenges beyond her status as a non-local candidate. Despite being the former Zilla Parishad chairperson from Rangareddy and the wife of Patnam Mahender Reddy, her political credentials remain a significant obstacle. In contrast to the Congress candidate, Eatala's candidature carries the weight of his past achievements. As a former minister deeply involved in the Telangana movement and later emerging as a leader challenging the authority of KCR's regime, Eatala commands a significant presence. Added to this, Malla Reddy’s observations citing him as the winning candidate have ruffled the feathers of the Congress leadership.

Revanth Reddy, who won from Malkajgiri in 2019 with more than six lakh votes, represented the constituency before being elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2023. Following his resignation, this is the first election for the constituency. In wake of the situation, the CM has undertaken the roadshow and corner meeting on Sunday in Malkajgiri constituency in two places L B Nagar and Malkajgiri.