With Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao contesting from Medak, who is also a native of the Medak district, Congress has fielded Sravan Kumar Reddy, from the seat, putting rest to the speculations of fielding former Medak MP and actress Vijayashanthi, who has quit TRS and joined Congress recently.
“I am not a novice to politics. I belong to a family of Congressmen, over five assembly segments out of seven belonged to Congress making my candidature stronger than my opponents,” Reddy said denying the reports that the party has deliberately chosen a sacrificial goat against KCR. The BJP which has opted for Medak in a seat sharing adjustment with TDP, has fielded Chaganla Narendra Nath who contested on a Congress ticket in 2009 elections and lost. He runs an NGO in Medak.
KCR, who has been trying to consolidate his position in his home turf Medak district, has grabbed the opportunity by contesting from Gajwel Assembly segment and also Medak LS seat. Follwing the 2008 Reorganisation of Constituencies, Medak constituency took a new shape with Siddipet, Dubbak, Gajwel, Medak, Sangareddy, Narsapur and Patancheru Assembly segments and the Zaheerabad Lok Sabha seat was carved with Zaheerabad, Narayankhed, Andole from Medak district and Banswada, Jukkal, Kamareddy and Yellareddy from Nizamabad district. Medak Lok Sabha constituency has 21, 36,348 voters in which 10, 77,742 are men and 10, 58,496 are women.
Looking at the Assembly segments, TRS is strong only in Siddipet and hopes to improve its position this time as KCR returns to Medak after contesting successfully from Karimnagar and Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha segments.
Siddipet is represented by KCR’s nephew T Harish Rao who has won a strong TRS hold for four times and contesting for the fifth time in a row. KCR has promised a separate Siddipet district. In Medak Assembly segment, TRS has pitted its candidate Padma Devender Reddy against Vijayashanthi of Congress and hopes that the former TDP leader Mainampalli Hanmantha Rao’s disgruntled cadre will help TRS as Hanmanth Rao is now TRS party’s candidate in Malkajigiri Parliament segment.