Congress releases names of 58 candidates for poll-bound Telangana, Tummala and Ponguleti missing from list

Congress released the first list of candidates for 58 out of 119 seats in Telangana today. The next list for the remaining candidates is likely to be released on Wednesday or Thursday.

Hyderabad :Telangana Congress on Sunday released the first list of 55 candidates for the state wherein party state president has been given a ticket. State Congress president Revanth Reddu has been fielded from Kodangal constituency. The second list is likely to be released on Wednesday or Thursday.

It is likely that former minister Tummala Nageswara Rao will contest from Khammam constituency and Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy may be fielded from Paleru. However, their names were not included in the first list.

Mainampally family have been given two tickets. Sitting MP Uttam Kumar is contesting from Huzur Nagar, his wife Padmavathi Reddy has been fielded from Kodada and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy from Nalgonda seat.

Although the Left parties demanded the Bhadrachalam ticket as part of the alliance, the seat was yet again allotted to Congress sitting MLA Podem Veeraiah.

The list was cleared by party president Mallikarjun Kharge headed AICC's central election committee on Saturday. A meeting will be held on October 17 or 18 to finalise candidates for the remaining seats and by October 19, Congress will announce names of candidates for all 119 Assembly constituencies of Telangana.

The party is set to begin its campaign with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra flagging off a bus yatra on October 18. The two leaders would offer prayers at Kondagattu Anjaneyaswamy temple in Jagtial before the roadshow.

In 2018, Congress could bag only 19 seats in Telangana and in 2014, it got 21 seats.