Bhongir Congress candidate Chamala Kiran Reddy, a former Youth Congress leader, campaigning in the constituency on Thursday.
In an era when Congress faces criticism that young leaders are not encouraged, two candidates, who have worked their way up from the students’ wings National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and Youth Congress to the senior Congress team, have come into the limelight.
Chamala Kiran Reddy, the candidate from Bhongir Parliamentary constituency, and Ch. Vamshichand Reddy, the candidate from Mahabubnagar Parliamentary constituency, can claim to be the true warriors of the Congress, who are sweating it out to enter Parliament.
Mr. Chamala Kiran’s name gained traction with Union Home Minister Amit Shah targeting him as the ‘chamcha’ of Rahul Gandhi, during his public meeting in Bhongir on Thursday. Mr. Reddy hit back saying that he was proud to be associated with Mr. Gandhi, unlike BJP that has imported a candidate from BRS called Boora Narsaiah Goud, who has no connection with BJP.
Considered close to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Mr. Chamala Kiran started his political journey from NSUI Nalgonda district unit and then climbed up in the organisation to work with Mr. Gandhi, when he took over as the AICC General Secretary (in-charge of NSUI and Youth Congress affairs).
Mr. Gandhi also appointed him as a member of the Task Force to revitalise the student and youth wings across the country and later as the national coordinator of ‘Aam Aadmi ka Sipahi’, a group started by the Congress leader for Youth Congress workers to reach out to the common man. “My abilities to handle situations well perhaps were recognised by Mr. Gandhi,” Mr. Reddy said.
Confident of winning the Bhongir seat with the Komatireddy brothers backing him fully and the Congress getting stronger in the erstwhile Nalgonda district, he said that “people will have a lot of expectations that he will fulfil”.
Mr. Vamshichand Reddy is pitted against BJP’s D.K. Aruna, a former Congress Minister and strong woman from Gadwal. But he made his mark in the NSUI and Youth Congress State politics in united Andhra Pradesh with some aggressive approach.
He was the first Youth Congress leader to win the post when Mr. Gandhi made it mandatory that the internal structure of the Youth Congress must be created through organisational elections. A doctor by profession, he had led several student and youth movements against the Telugu Desham Party (TDP) government when N. Chandrababu Naidu was the Chief Minister.
Getting into the good books of Mr. Rahul Gandhi in a short time, Mr. Vamshichand was made the AICC Secretary (organisation), considered a key post in the Congress structure in New Delhi circles. “I consider it as a recognition for all the hard work in the party,” he said.
Mahabubnagar throws up a huge challenge to him though he won as an MLA from Kalwakurthy in 2014 and he is tapping all his connections to come out victorious. The backward Mahabubnagar district has been a stronghold of the Congress before the BRS dented its prospects in 2014 and 2018 Assembly elections. But in the 2023 elections, the Congress trounced the BRS winning all seats except two in the combined Mahbubnagar.
