As expected, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president A Revanth Reddy will fight against Bharat Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao from Kamareddy assembly constituency in the assembly elections in the state to be held on November 30.
The Congress announced the list of 16 candidates on Monday night with Revanth Reddy’s name pitched against KCR in Kamareddy.
The list includes 14 fresh candidates, with two others named in the second list declared on October 27 being replaced by two others.
Revanth Reddy is expected to file his nomination papers from Kamareddy on November 11.
The party is yet to announce candidates for four other constituencies – Miryalguda, Suryapet, Tungaturthi and Charminar.
The third list includes former MP G Vivekananda, who defected from the Bharatiya Janata Party into the Congress last week. Vivek was the BJP’s manifesto committee chairman before he defected to the Congress.
The others include former MLA Enugu Ravinder Reddy from Banswada, former minister Mohd Ali Shabbir from Nizamabad (urban) and former MP Suresh Kumar Shetkar from Narayankhed.
Former minister G Chinna Reddy from Wanaparthy and Vannela Ashok from Boath (ST), who figured in the second list of candidates, were dropped after strong resistance from local Congress cadres. In their place, the party named Tudi Megha Reddy from Wanaparthy and Ade Gajender from Boath (ST).
Senior leader K K Mahender Reddy, who has been fighting against BRS working president and KCR’s son K T Rama Rao since 2009, has been given the party ticket again.
The Congress convinced the Communist Party of India (CPI) for an alliance and contesting just one seat – Kothagudem. Revanth Reddy assured the CPI leaders that they would get due respect as part of the alliance in the coming days.