One man’s poison could be another man’s food. The adage fits for Kothagudem assembly constituency in Telangana like none else. In Kothagudem, the unsavoury episode of MLA Vanama Venkateswara Rao’s son Vanama Raghava Rao’s sexual harassment and goondaism could actually end up helping another warhorse Jalagam Venkat Rao.
In fact, Jalagam was the TRS candidate in 2018 assembly elections from Kothagudem. However, he lost the elections to Vanama Venkateswara Rao of the Congress Party. But, soon after winning on Congress ticket, Vanama latched onto the TRS bandwagon. Since then,Jalagam’s influence has dimmed quite a bit. Vanama has virtually pushed him to the margins.
But after the Vanama Raghava incident, the TRS Party’s image has been badly dented. There is a strong demand to deny TRS ticket to Vanama Venkateswar Rao, who tacitly encouraged Raghava’s reign of terror. A strong section in the TRS is assessing the damage caused by Raghava episode.
If that happens, who will be the TRS candidate this time from Kothagudem? Will it be Jalagam Venkat Rao? Realising that he stands a chance, Jalagam has begun meeting TRS leaders and is said to be lobbying for himself. Will KCR bite the bullet and give the ticket to Jalagam? Let’s wait and see.
