Congress looks a tough customer in Adilabad bottomline

TDP-TRS contests for same seats mar GA’s “credibility”

ADILABAD: The April 16 elections augur a keen fight between the Congress and the Grand Alliance partners in Adilabad district. The morale of the Congress is very high as it takes on mainly the Telugu Desam Party-Telangana Rashtra Samiti combine.

Like in last year’s byelections to Adilabad Lok Sabha and Khanapur (ST) Assembly constituencies, the Congress is seeking the people’s mandate on the plank of development. The development witnessed here in terms of irrigation potential has resulted in improvement in the living standards of people. This in turn, has established the party’s credibility among the masses.

The TDP-led alliance will be required to contend with this powerful aspect of ‘credibility’ of its political opponent if it has to achieve success. Under the present circumstances, this seems to be a daunting task for both the TDP and TRS, which are fighting it out in four and five Assembly constituencies in the district respectively. The CPI candidate is in fray at the Bellampally (SC) Assembly constituency while the Adilabad Lok Sabha seat has been given to the TDP.

The alliance seems to have frittered away some of the advantage of a united fight as its leaders indulged in a prolonged squabble over seat sharing. This has also helped in projecting the Congress as a cohesive unit in the district that was its stronghold until 1985.

The Congress has fielded incumbents Labour Minister G. Vinod, N. Diwakar Rao, A. Indrakaran Reddy, Koneru Konappa and District Congress Committee president C. Ramchander Reddy respectively from Chennur (SC), Mancherial (formerly Luxettipet), Nirmal, Sirpur and Adilabad. None of them is facing anti-incumbency as such.

In the remaining five Assembly seats and for Adilabad (ST) LS constituency, it has put up candidates who are considered as fresh faces. This aspect is not likely to affect the prospects of the candidates because the opposition too has fielded freshers with ZP chairman Ramesh Rathod, TDP candidate for the LS constituency, being an exception.

Gonds zone

The Congress seems to have scored also by nominating Kotnak Ramesh, son of former Minister Bheem Rao, belonging to the majority Gond tribe, for Adilabad LS seat. The Gonds outnumber Lambadas four to one.