Can BRS MLA Patnam Narender Reddy pull off 2018 magic against PCC president Revanth Reddy in Kondangal?

Assembly constituency: Kodangal

District: Vikarabad

MLA: Patnam Narender Reddy (Reddy)

Reservation: GEN

Total Voters: 2,19,417

Booths: 275

Urban Voters: 0%

Rural Voters: 100%

Male: 49 %

Female: 51 %

Caste & Religious Demography

Gen + BC: 72 %

SC: 16 %

ST: 2 %

Hindu: 90 %

Muslim: 7 %

Others : 3 %

Candidates

Patnam Narender Reddy (BRS)

MLA Profile

Personal Background

Patnam Narender Reddy, who comes from a landlord's family and belongs to the Shabad mandal of Chevella Assembly in Ranga Reddy district.

Political Background

Patnam Narender Reddy began his career in the TDP with the support of his brother, former Telangana minister Patnam Mahender Reddy. In 2010, he was elected as an MLC from the TDP.

He joined the TRS (now BRS) after Telangana was formed and was elected as an MLC. He won against the incumbent and five-time MLA Gurunath Reddy in the Assembly elections 2018. The Patnam family is well-known in Chevella, Parigi, Thandur, and Kodangal.

Financial Strength: He is affluent and his uncle (Indra Reddy, husband of Sabith Indra Reddy, current Telangana education minister and former home minister of united Andhra Pradesh) is also well-off.

Revanth Reddy (Congress)

Revanth Reddy, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader, won his first Assembly election from the Kodangal constituency, defeating Congress candidate and sitting MLA Gurunath Reddy by a margin of 6,989 votes in 2009.

Revanth was re-elected in Kodangal in 2014, defeating Gurunath Reddy by over 14,000 votes. Reddy joined the Congress in 2017 after leaving the TDP led by N Chandrababu Naidu.

However, in the 2018 Telangana Assembly election from Kodangal, he was defeated by TRS leader Patnam Narender Reddy by a margin of 9,319 votes.

Reddy was arrested in 2015 during a sting operation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly bribing a nominated MLA to vote for the TDP candidate in the Legislative Council elections.

He is contesting from Kodangal again, this time against BRS candidate Patnam Narendra Reddy in Telangana Assembly elections 2023.

Bantu Ramesh Kumar (BJP)

The BJP has fielded Bantu Ramesh Kumar to face Congress candidate A. Revanth Reddy and BRS candidate Patnam Narender Reddy in the Kondangal constituency.

Constituency details

Geography

Kodangal, Daulatabad, Bommarasipet, Kosgi, and Maddur mandals are part of the Kodangal Assembly constituency.

Kodangal, located between Telangana and Karnataka, is a region where Karnataka culture blends with Telangana culture.

Background

Kodangal Assembly was formed in 1952. The Congress has a firm grip on this Assembly constituency seat. Former MLA Gurunath Reddy served five terms as an MLA from the Kondangal constituency.

Economy:

Since this area is prone to drought, many people of this constituency who rely on rain-fed agriculture have traveled to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Mumbai in search of work.

2014 Assembly constituency analysis

In 2014, Revanth Reddy contested for the TDP-BJP coalition in the Kodangal constituency. After serving as a Congress MLA, Gurunath Reddy contested for the TRS. D.Vital Rao, the former Mahabubnagar MP, ran for re-election on behalf of the Congress.

Revanth Reddy has good following, and he served as an MLA from the same Assembly constituency in 2009. He is an excellent orator and was always available to the public. The BJP votes also helped him become an MLA in 2014.

Despite the fact that former Congress MLA Gurunath Reddy won this Assembly five times, he was rejected by the public in 2014 due to the anti-incumbency factor and his son's feudal mentality. The TDP-BJP alliance, which was anti-TRS candidate Gurunath Reddy, favoured TDP candidate Revanth Reddy.

2018 Assembly constituency analysis

Patnam Narender Reddy had won in Kondangal constituency on behalf of the TRS in the 2018 elections. Telangana government's welfare schemes and the Patnam brothers' influence led to his victory in 2018. KCR, the president of the BRS, appointed BRS leader Harish Rao as the election in-charge in Kodangal. Money was a major factor in these elections.

Current Situation

The sitting TRS MLA, Patnam Narender Reddy, is rarely present in the Assembly constituency, and no development projects have been initiated by him till date.

He is, however, in constant contact with party members. He'll gather whatever information he can and work through the party's workers.

To date, the Congress did not have a Kodangal in-charge. They have, however, been active in the Kodangal Assembly constituency since Revanth Reddy was appointed TPCC chief.

The BJP has a strong presence in Kosgi and Kodangal, and BJP leader Nagurao Namaji is an active BJP leader. He gets along well with party members and is currently helping to strengthen the party in Kodangal.

Key local Issues

• Railway line to Kodangal
• Hyderabad to Beejapur National Highway
• As many as 137-gram panchayats lack road connectivity
• Primary schools in many villages

MLA's unfulfilled promises 

TRS MLA promised in 2018 that the Palamuru Rangareddy project would provide irrigation water to more than 1 lakh acres in the Kodangal Assembly constituency. However, the canal project has not yet been completed. In 2018, TRS MLA promised an ITI college, a polytechnic college, a nursing college, and a degree college in Maddur mandal headquarters. However, MLA failed to bring these educational institutions to Kodangal. The MLA also promised to build a 100-bed hospital in Kodangal town and a 50-bed hospital in Kosgi town during the 2018 election campaign. However, the MLA disregarded his promises.

In 2018, Rs. 3 crores was allocated for constructing a new bus stand in Kodangal town, but only half of the project was completed. Telangana government failed to renovate Government 480 lakes in Kodangal TRS MLA promised to fill Dhandoni lake, Hasnabad lake, Dhudhyala lake, and Maddhur lake, but failed in fulfilling his promises. In 2018, TRS MLA pledged to make Kosgi Mandal a revenue division during the election campaign, but failed to achieve this goal.

In 2018, the MLA promised to create three new mandals in Kodangal Assembly constituency, Gundumal, Dhidhyala, and Rudraram, but failed to declare these villages as Mandals.