TDP to stay away from Palair bypoll; Straight fight between Congress, TRS likely

With the Telangana TDP and YSR Congress party deciding to keep off the by-election to Palair Assembly constituency on May 16, there will be a virtual straight contest between the ruling TRS and the main Opposition Congress party.

The by-election to Palair segment was necessitated following the death of sitting Congress MLA Ramreddy Venkata Reddy. The party has decided to field his wife Sucharita Reddy as its nominee. It may be mentioned here that the Congress which was keen on retaining Palair seat at any cost, the party leaders approached the TDP and sought its help in the by-election. TCPP president Uttam Kumar Reddy and working president Mallu Bhatti Vikramark have urged the TDP to extend its support to the Congress nominee. The Congress party had also written a letter to AP Chief Minister and TDP national president N Chandrababu Naidu seeking his help. TDP state president L Ramana said the party would support Congress candidate Sucharita Reddy, wife of Ramreddy Venkata Reddy, in the by-election.

rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">            The ruling TRS party has chosen Roads & Buildings Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao as its candidate. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's son State IT & Panchayat Raj Minister K T Rama Rao has been appointed as party in-charge for the election.

The Congress has appealed to all the political parties to let Venkata Reddy's wife get elected unopposed as per the traditions in undivided Andhra Pradesh and also in view of the departed leader's clean image. Heeding to the request, YSR Congress and TDP have announced their decision not to field their candidates.

Thanking the TDP for its support, Vikramarka today hoped that the CPI and CPI(M), which have a presence in Khammam district, would also not field their candidates. Responding to other Opposition parties supporting the Congress in the bypoll, Rama Rao criticised them for the move.