Hyderabad: Though Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has on record remained non-committal on the possibility of Nalgonda Lok Sabha bypoll, TRS sources insist that it is more or less a certainty.
According to the sources, the Chief Minister will ask sitting MP Gutta Sukhender Reddy to tender his resignation any time after results of Singareni union election are declared, most likely on Thursday night.
The sources also said that the CM has already organised a few surveys in Nalgonda Lok Sabha constituency, a Congress bastion, and was thoroughly satisfied with the outcome that the TRS would win the bypoll.
Interestingly, Mr Rao has already decided to appoint Mr Sukhender Reddy as the state-level coordinator for the farm coordination panels. The post deals with finances and as such will attract the provisions of the Office of Profit rule that bars elected representatives holding such posts.
Mr Rao has held a series of consultations with his party colleagues and legislators from the constituency and has even shortlisted two names.
According to sources, Nalgonda Zilla Parishad chairman Balu Naik who was elected on a Congress ticket before switching sides and joining the TRS two years ago, is one of the shortlisted candidates.
Mr Naik is a tribal, a community that has 2.25 lakh of the 14 lakh votes in the constituency.
Similarly, there are about 2 lakh Yadavas, a community that former CPM MLA Nomula Narasimhaiah belongs. Mr Narasimhaiah was elected from Nakrekal Assembly segment twice, but after the seat reserved for SCs following delimitation, he joined the TRS and contested unsuccessfully against K. Jana Reddy from Nagarjunagar Assembly in 2014.
“The candidate will not be a Reddy; he will either be an ST or BC,” a TRS source said.
Congress stalwarts like TPCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy (Huzurnagar), his wife N. Padmavathi (Kodad), Leader of the Opposition in Assembly K. Jana Reddy (Nagarjunasagar), MLA Komatireddy Venkata Reddy (Nalgonda) besides former minister R. Damodar Reddy (Suryapet) all hail from Nalgonda.
Lok Sabha constituency.
