Former Jubilee Hills MLA Meets CM KCR Amid Ticket Denial

Former Jubilee Hills MLA P. Vishnuvardhan Reddy meets CM KCR after being denied Congress ticket

Hyderabad: Former Jubilee Hills MLA P. Vishnuvardhan Reddy met with Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao at Pragathi Bhavan on Sunday, a day after he was denied a Congress ticket for the upcoming assembly elections.

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) instead opted for former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin as its candidate for the Jubilee Hills constituency.

Reddy and his followers had expressed their dissent by throwing stones and attacking Gandhi Bhavan, the party’s headquarters in Hyderabad, on Saturday.

Reddy won from Jubilee Hills in 2004 and 2009, but lost to MLA Maganti Gopinath in 2014 and 2018.

It is unclear what was discussed in Reddy’s meeting with KCR, but it has sparked speculation that he may be planning to switch parties. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), led by KCR, is the ruling party in Telangana.

Reddy’s meeting with KCR comes at a time when the Congress is facing a series of setbacks in Telangana. The party has lost several key leaders to the TRS in recent months.

The TRS is seen as the frontrunner in the upcoming assembly elections. The party has a strong track record of performance and is popular among voters.

If Reddy does join the TRS, it would be a major blow to the Congress. Reddy is a popular leader in Jubilee Hills and has a strong following.