Hanamkonda: The Congress is likely to name former minister Konda Surekha for the Huzurabad by-election against the TRS and the BJP.
The party will finalize and announce the name of the candidate by August 18 after approval from high command.
The 55-year-old Surekha, a four-time MLA, is all set to take on the BJP’s Etala Rajender and the ruling party TRS candidate, Srinivas Yadav making it an electoral battle between the Backward Castes.
The Huzurabad by-poll has become a matter of pride for the TRS party and the BJP as the former health minister E.Rajender has left the ruling party to join BJP.
Both the parties have started their election campaigns even though the Election Commission has not issued a notification yet.
After Kaushik Reddy shifted his credentials towards TRS party, Congress had not too many options to select a candidate. Though Reddy lost twice against E.Rajender who was then in the TRS from Huzurabad assembly, he was still a capable leader in the region.
After assuming charge as the new chief of the TPCC, the Huzurabad by-poll is the first big test for Revanth Reddy. He held discussions for two days with senior leaders Mohammed Ali Shabbir, Huzarabad in charge, and former Deputy CM Damodar Raj Narsimha, former MLC Daya Sagar and other senior leaders to finalize the name for the Huzurabad by-poll.
The names of Konda Surekha, Dommati Sambaiah from Warangal and Karimnagar DCC Chief Kavvampally Satyanarayana were considered during the meeting.
With both the TRS and BJP relying on the BC candidate for the by-poll, the state Congress leaders decided to field a candidate from the backward caste as well.
Thus, Konda Surekha’s name was proposed and finalized by the state leadership. The state senior leaders believe that Surekha could garner the votes of the Padmashali community to which she belongs. Besides, she could also influence the votes of her husband and former MLC Konda Murali’s community Munnuru Kapu. Surekha could have an advantage as the Padmashali is an influential caste in Huzurabad, Jammikunta, Kamalapur and Veenavanka mandals.