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With former MP and Congress leader Anjan Kumar Yadav openly expressing his displeasure over not being named the candidate for Jubilee Hills Assembly bypolls, the party's state in-charge, Meenakshi Natarajan, visited his house on Friday to pacify him.
Accompanied by party Secretary P.C. Vishnunadh, Backward Classes Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and Labour Minister G. Vivek, she met the former MP from Secunderabad
Meenakshi Natarajan intervened to pacify Yadav after he expressed unhappiness over the party leadership ignoring him to field Naveen Yadav as the candidate for the November 11 by-election to the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency.
Anjan Kumar Yadav was elected to the Lok Sabha from Secunderabad in 2004 and 2009 but suffered defeat in the 2014 and 2019 elections. He unsuccessfully contested for the Assembly from the Musheerabad constituency in the 2023 polls.
His son Anil Kumar Yadav was made a Rajya Sabha member under the MLAs’ quota last year.
The former MP was one of the strong contenders for the Jubilee Hills ticket, but citing his defeat in Musheerabad and nomination of his son for Rajya Sabha, the party ignored his claim.
Ponnam Prabhakar, who is in charge minister for Hyderabad, also raised the issue of local versus non-local representation and the principle of ‘one ticket and one designation per family’ to defend the party’s decision.
This has miffed Anjan Kumar Yadav, who cited the examples of Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and his wife N. Padmavathi, Komatireddy brothers, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and his brother MP Mallu Ravi.
The former MP also stated that he would soon disclose the names of the leaders who prevented him from securing the ticket for the Jubilee Hills by-election.
Jubilee Hills is one of the Assembly segments of the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency, and Anjan Kumar Yadav claims to be enjoying the good support of various sections of voters.
Anjan Kumar Yadav is unhappy that the party leadership announced the candidate without even consulting him.
The Congress party on October 8 announced Naveen Yadav as its candidate for the Jubilee Hills bypolls.
This has upset Anjan Kumar Yadav and other contenders in the party. They questioned the party’s choice as Naveen Yadav had joined Congress only in 2023.
Naveen Yadav had contested from Jubilee Hills as the candidate of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in 2014 but lost to Maganti Gopinath of BRS by 9,242 votes. In 2018, Naveen Yadav contested as an independent and finished a distant third.