'Son of soil' gives KCR, Congress chief stiff challenge in Kamareddy seat

Shubhadeep Choudhury

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Kamareddy, November 25

Located near the railway

station in Kamareddy town, the residence of the BJP candidate from the constituency K Venkata Ramana Reddy is humming with activity.

Reddy’s supporters are going in and out of the house on various errands. In a cemented area covered with a roof, some mediapersons are waiting to meet the BJP candidate. Visitors to the Reddy residence include the political economy analyst from the British Deputy High Commission in Hyderabad who is preparing a report on the elections in Telangana.

Faced with Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (candidate from the state’s ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi or BRS)) and state Congress president Revanth Reddy as his two rivals, Reddy is the obvious lightweight in the race for this constituency. However, the 49-year-old has managed to turn the spotlight on himself by projecting the electoral battle in Kamareddy as a “local vs outsider” clash.

“Reddy could be the dark horse, I won’t be surprised if he wins in the polls”, Ravi Reddy, senior Hyderabad journalist associated with an English daily, said.

While KCR is a native of Medak district and Revanth Reddy is from Mehboobnagar, Venkata Ramana Reddy is a “son of the soil”, from Kamareddy, a factor that has struck a bell with voters here.

“Venkata Ramanana Reddy is a local person. He is going to be accessible to us when we need him . Same cannot be said about KCR or Revanth Reddy”, Balakrishna, a lawyer at the Kamareddy SJM court, said. Talking to this reporter, Reddy said: “I have never enjoyed so much prominence. Media people are coming from far off places to meet me. The PM is going address a meeting in my constituency. This in itself a big reward for me.”

Local vs outsider

Pitted against CM K Chandrashekar Rao and state Congress chief Revanth Reddy in Kamareddy, BJP’s K Venkata Ramana Reddy has managed to turn the poll battle as a “local vs outsider”clash