Uttam: Congress Will Win Next Assembly Elections Too

Nizamabad: Irrigation and civil supplies minister and Nizamabad Parliamentary constituency in-charge N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday expressed confidence that the Congress would continue in power in the next Assembly elections, citing development works and welfare schemes implemented since the party assumed office. He called upon Congress leaders and cadre to actively take the government’s development and welfare programmes to the people and demonstrate the party’s strength in the forthcoming municipal elections.

A coordination meeting of municipalities was held in Nizamabad on Sunday for the Nizamabad municipal corporation and the municipalities of Bodhan, Armoor, Bheemgal, Metpally and Korutla. TPCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, government advisers P. Sudarshan Reddy and Mohammad Ali Shabbir, MLA R. Bhupathi Reddy, MLC Balmuri Venkat, former MLA Eravathri Anil, former MLC Arikela Narsa Reddy, district Congress president K. Nagesh Reddy, and city Congress president Bobbili Ramakrishna, among others, attended the meeting.

Addressing the gathering, Uttam Kumar Reddy said municipal election tickets would be finalised based on party surveys, with loyalty, sincerity and discipline being the key criteria. He assured that alternative opportunities would be provided to leaders who do not receive tickets.

Stating that the government is giving special focus to urban development, he said additional funds would be sanctioned to ensure improved infrastructure in towns and cities. He urged party workers to widely publicise the Congress government’s welfare and development initiatives, asserting that this would ensure a resounding victory in the municipal elections.

Highlighting the fine rice distribution scheme, he said the Congress was the first party in the country to provide quality rice free of cost to eligible poor families. Earlier, coarse rice distributed through the Public Distribution System was often sold instead of being consumed, leading to irregularities. The Congress government, he said, ended this practice by supplying fine rice free of cost to nearly 85 per cent of the State’s population at an annual cost of Rs 13,600 crore.

In Nizamabad municipal corporation alone, about 18,000 beneficiaries are receiving fine rice free of cost, he said. Providing quality food to the poor, he added, gave him personal satisfaction and reflected the Congress government’s commitment to improving the lives of the underprivileged.

He said welfare measures such as free bus travel for women in RTC buses, free electricity up to 200 units for the poor, and free fine rice distribution demonstrate the government’s inclusive approach. He also said the Congress government deserved full credit for issuing white ration cards to eligible poor families across the state.

Criticising the previous BRS government, Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that no new white ration cards were issued during its ten-year rule and that even additions of family members to existing cards were not permitted. He urged Congress workers to take these facts to the people, stating that this would ensure the party’s victory in the municipal elections.