KARIMNAGAR: Karimnagar Assembly constituency is in the limelight this election season as big shot politicos from the TRS, BJP and Congress parties — Gangula Kamalakar, Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Ponnam Prabhakar, respectively — are to contest from here.
Though the constituency is listed under the general category, only BC candidates have been winning here for past two elections. Even this year, all candidates are from BC. TRS’ Gangula Kamalakar, who won twice in 2009 and 2014, is working hard towards a hat-trick. In his campaign, he said that Rs 247 crores were allotted to Karimnagar as part of the Smart City initiative.
It seems that the Congress candidate Ponnam Prabhakar has gained the confidence of the people during his tenure as an MP. Though he had lost the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prabhakar has played a significant role in the Telangana movement. However, it is learnt that he has been facing opposition from within the party and as a result was fielded as an MLA candidate instead of an MP candidate.
Meanwhile, BJP’s Bandi Sanjay Kumar had come second in the 2014 Assembly elections in Karimnagar. With the support of the youth against the backdrop of rising Hindutva sentiment across the country, he poses a tough competition to the other two leaders despite his lack of experience as a people’s representative.