Karimnagar: Political successors in race for Lok Sabha tickets

Karimnagar: Aspirants have intensified their efforts for Lok Sabha tickets in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in erstwhile Karimnagar district.

At present they are eyeing Karimnagar and Peddapally seats. Velichala Rajender Rao, son of late Velichala Jagapathi Rao, former Karimnagar MLA and former MLC, is lobbying for the Congress ticket.

Meneni Rohith Rao, grandson of late former Minister Meneni Satyanarayana Rao, is trying to contest from this constituency. Vamsi, son of MLA Vivek Venkata Swamy and grandson of former Union Minister late G Venkataswamy, who has made his mark in national politics as an undisputed leader in Peddapalli Parliament in the past, is showing enthusiasm to contest from Peddapalli Parliament segment.

M Satyanarayana Rao (MSR), who served as Karimnagar MP for three consecutive terms from 1971 to 1984. He acted as AICC general secretary and in charge of six States. In 2004, he won the MLA of Karimnagar and served as Minister of Devadaya and Sports in the YASR cabinet. Before 2004, he served as the president of PCC. He served three times as RTC Chairman. His successor is his grandson Meneni Rohith Rao has already started trying to contest as an MP.

Rohith Rao came from Australia after the death of his grandfather MSR and joined active politics. In the previous Assembly elections, he tried for Karimanagar Assembly ticket. After the party ticket was given to Puramalla Srinivas, he is hoping that the Lok Sabha ticket will be given to him. Rohith Rao is currently the spokesperson of TPCC.

Venkataswamy, who won as an MP six times, worked as a Union Minister for three terms and served as a member of the Congress Working Committee as the president of the PCC, won four times from the Peddapalli constituency under the joint district. He won three times in a row and achieved a hat-trick by winning 1989,1991 and 1996 elections.

His son Vivek served as MP from 2009-14. Later Vivek joined BRS and again Congress after that BJP and recently joined Congress and contested from Chennur Assembly and won. Vivek’s brother Vinod won from Bellampally. If Vamsi gets the ticket and wins, it will be a record for the descendants of Venkata Swamy. Velichala Jagapathi Rao was politically well known figure. He worked as an MLA from Jagtial in 1972, from Karimnagarh in 1989 and from Graduates constituency in 1978. He also won as an independent candidate from Karimnagar. He published many articles during the Telangana movement; being a good writer he also made his mark in politics till the end.

Velichala Rajender Rao is trying to get Karimnagar Lok Sabha ticket as his successor. In 2009, Rajendra Rao expected to get the MP ticket of the present BRS then TRS, but when the ticket was given, he contested as an MP from the Praja Rajyam Party and got more than one lakh votes and got more votes than those who contested as an MP in Telangana from that party and got into the news. He also served as Chairman of Karimnagar Market Committee. He has held various positions in the Congress and now he is intensifying his efforts for the Karimnagar MP ticket.