What was expected has happened. Telangana Telugu Desam party has decided against entering the fray in Palair byelection in Khammam disrict.
The party has decided to support Congress candidate Ramreddy Sucharita Reddy. This decision has been taken unanimously by the Telangana TDP this morning in an emergency meeting held at NTR Trust Bhavan. The meeting was held after party national president Chandrababu Naidu had left the matter of contesting the election to the TTDP yesterday. Party president L Ramana presided over the meeting. With this TDP has become the second party in extending support to the Congress candidate, the first being YSRCP.
Emerging from the meeting, Party president L Ramana announced about the decision. “We have decided not to field out candidate in Palair byelection. This is in tune with the tradition of not fielding candidate in the byelection necessitated by the sudden death of the candidate either in accidents or terrorist attack or sometimes in recognition to the services rendered by the deceased to the constituency,” Ramana said.
In the case of Palair, he said, the TDP had acknowledged the services rendered by Ramreddy Venkata Reddy to the constituency. ” When the family members of Ramreddy Venkata Reddy have come forward to contest the elections we have no option but to support them. Besides, the Congress approached us. They wrote a letter to the party . TPCC working president Bhatti Vikramarkhas had met me this morning. so, in spite of the ideological differences between the two parties, the T-TDP has resolved to support the Congress candidate, honoring the tradition,” Ramana said.
When asked about how the party did not honor the tradition in Narayankhed byelection held in February, the TTDP president said, the Congress had not approached them.
Whatever may be the reason, TDP decision will help make the contest in Palair a straight one. Because the YSR Congress had already announced its decision.
Meanwhile, both TPCC president Uttamkumar Reddy and working president Mallu Vikramarkha are trying to persuade the Left party also to support Congress candidate in order not create split among the anti-establishment voters.