NRIs flood T'gana parties with pleas for ticket

  • | Wednesday | 13th February, 2019

“I have expressed my intention with all Congress leaders.”Some NRIs, seeking a TRS ticket, are ready to contest from wherever the party wants. Naik is joint secretary of NRI TRS, USA. Venugupal, who is also convenor and coordinator for TPCC NRI Cell UK &Europe, attending Rahul Gandhi’s meetings overseas. Indian Overseas Congress general secretary and NRI entrepreneur from the UK, Gampa Venugopal, is seriously considering contesting from Medak. Being the ruling party, TRS is facing the maximum pressure from expatriate backers.In the recently held assembly elections, TRS had given a ticket to NRI Shanampudi Saidi Reddy from Huzurnagar against Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttamkumar Reddy, but he lost.

HYDERABAD: Even before political parties in Telangana start the process of selecting candidates for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, NRIs have started lining up at their doorstep in big number with a ticket application in hand.Almost all major parties in the region – TRS, Congress, BJP and TJS – are facing pressure from their NRI supporters, leaving party leaders worried as they already have a long list of aspirants for each of the 17 seats from within the state. Being the ruling party, TRS is facing the maximum pressure from expatriate backers.In the recently held assembly elections, TRS had given a ticket to NRI Shanampudi Saidi Reddy from Huzurnagar against Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttamkumar Reddy, but he lost. Another NRI entrepreneur from the UK, Dr Pagidipati Devaiah, had tried his luck at Wardhannapet from Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS), but he too had lost.But that hasn’t discouraged the expatriate community. Over a dozen NRIs have already submitted their profiles to the party of their choice, while others are scouting for constituencies and parties that would give them a chance.I am no parachute politician,” says Jalagam Sudheer, an NRI in the US who is seeking a TRS ticket from Nalgonda. “I have been doing social service, like holding meetings to improve government hospitals and schools. For many years, I have been holding a programme called ‘Tea with Headmasters’ in my village near Kodad where school authorities and parents interact.”Sudheer was a project manager with a software company which he left last year. He had earlier filed his nomination from Kodad assembly constituency in the recent assembly election, but had later withdrawn his nomination. This time, he has already announced his manifesto and started campaigning in the constituency. “I have completed the first round of campaigning in almost all the villages in Nalgonda,” he says.The competition among expatriates can be gauged from the fact that another NRI, Sakru Naik, from Suryapet, too is hoping to get a TRS ticket from Nalgonda. Naik is joint secretary of NRI TRS, USA. He is currently president of Minnesota Area Telangana Association.“Being a technologist, I am involved in many transformational projects and social programmes through the party,” he says.Political parties are hoping NRIs would mobilise their own resources to contest elections and not seek funds from the party.Also, an NRI often helps fight anti-incumbency. But some party leaders feel that real workers are being ignored in the process.There are NRI aspirants for Congress and TJS tickets as well. Indian Overseas Congress general secretary and NRI entrepreneur from the UK, Gampa Venugopal, is seriously considering contesting from Medak. Venugupal, who is also convenor and coordinator for TPCC NRI Cell UK &Europe, attending Rahul Gandhi’s meetings overseas. “My father was a Congress leader and I worked an NSUI leader in Medak and Siddipet,” he says. “I have expressed my intention with all Congress leaders.”Some NRIs, seeking a TRS ticket, are ready to contest from wherever the party wants. Juvvadi Srinivas Rao, Gulf NRI Association president from Dubai, is ready for a fight from any seat.He belongs to Karimnagar , but sitting MP B Vinod Kumar will contest there, so Juvvadi looking at Zaheerabad or Malkajgiri.

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