Mahabubabad set for a battle of equals

Mahabubabad : Barring the BJP’s candidate announcement, the battle lines are drawn for the Mahabubabad Lok Sabha (ST) constituency. While the BRS and the Congress are retaining their candidates – Maloth Kavitha (sitting MP) and Balaram Naik Porika – respectively for the Mahabubabad seat, the BJP is yet to announce its nominee. It appears that the BJP is keen to field former MP Azmeera Seetaram Naik if one goes by the Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy’s tete-a-tete with Seetaram Naik in Warangal on Friday.

With the BRS leadership deciding to field Maloth Kavitha for the second time, apparently, Seetaram Naik is livid with his party, it’s learnt. It may be mentioned here that Seetaram Naik was denied a ticket twice by the BRS after his first triumph in 2014. It’s learnt that Naik sought a couple of days to reveal his decision when Kishan Reddy had invited him to the saffron party.

In 2019 elections, BJP fielded Jatoth Hussain Naik who barely got 3 per cent votes. Against this backdrop, the BJP, which is searching for a strong candidate, is likely to opt for Naik’s candidature. Jatoth Hussain Naik, BJP Mahabubabad district president Yapa Seethaiah and BJP State secretary and actress Reshma Rathore are the other aspirants vying for ticket.

On the other hand, Balaram Naik was on the Mahabubabad Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and worked as the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment in the Manmohan Singh government. He managed to get the ticket for the fourth time even though there was a huge rush for Mahabubabad seat.

The Congress has fared well in the Mahabubabad Parliament seat since its formation in 1951. The Parliament segment was winded up in 1967 and again restored after the delimitation of constituencies in 2009. The seven Assembly segments in the Mahabubabad constituency are Bhadrachalam, Mahabubabad, Dornakal, Yellandu, Pinapaka, Mulugu and Narsampet. The Congress won all segments except Bhadrachalam in the elections to the Assembly.