Lok Sabha Election: 3 defectors from BRS among 5 Congress candidates in Telangana

Hyderabad: Three defectors from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) are among five candidates announced by the Congress on Thursday in Telangana for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

BRS legislator Danam Nagender, who joined the Congress on March 17, has been named as the candidate from the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency.

Elected to the Assembly from Khairatabad Assembly constituency, Nagender will take on sitting MP and Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy of the BJP.

Nagender, who had served as a minister in the Congress government in united Andhra Pradesh from 2009 to 2014, had joined TRS (now BRS) in 2018 and was elected to the Assembly from Khairatabad.

He retained the seat in the recent elections. Khairatabad is one of the seven Assembly segments in Secunderabad Parliamentary constituency.

Ranjith Reddy, the sitting BRS MP from Chevella who too joined the Congress on March 17, will seek re-election from the same constituency on the Congress ticket.

BRS legislator Patnam Mahender Reddy’s wife and Vikarabad ZP chairperson Sunitha, who joined the Congress party last month, will contest from Malkajgiri constituency.

Sunitha’s candidature was withheld at the last minute from Chevella on March 9. With Ranjith Reddy joining the Congress camp, Sunitha has been asked to contest from Malkajgiri. Both Chevella and Malkajgiri comprise Assembly segments in and around Greater Hyderabad.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy was elected from Malkajgiri in the 2019 elections. Senior Congress leader and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) working president Mallu Ravi will contest from Nagarkurnool.

Mallu Ravi is brother of Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka but a staunch loyalist of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. The Congress has fielded Gaddam Vamsi Krishna from Peddapalli (SC) seat.

He is the son of former MP Gaddam Vivekanand, who quit the BJP to join the Congress just before the Assembly elections and was elected to the Assembly from Chennur.

The Congress has denied ticket to sitting BRS MP from Peddapalli, B. Venkatesh Netha, who joined the Congress party last month.

With Thursday’s second list, the Congress party has so far announced candidates for nine out of 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It had earlier named four candidates.

Elections to all 17 seats in the state are scheduled on May 13. The Congress had won three Lok Sabha seats in 2019.