IT raids premises of Congress leader Ponguleti Reddy in poll-bound Telangana

Khammam (Telangana) [India], November 9 (ANI): Ahead of polls, the Income Tax officials on Thursday conducted raids on the residence of Congress leader Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, in Telangana’s Khammam district, officials said.

Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy is contesting the November 30 polls from the Palair constituency in Khammam district.

“Income tax officials reportedly conducted raids on the residence of Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy,” officials said.

Reddy, a former member of the Lok Sabha, had recently joined Congress from BRS.

Former Cricketer and Congress leader Mohammed Azharuddin on Wednesday said that BJP has no real impact in Telangana adding that there is a Congress wave in the state for the assembly polls this month.

Speaking to ANI, Mohammed Azharuddin said, “Our party is strong here. BJP does not have much impact here. There is a Congress wave here. People also believe that Congress will do the developmental work.”

Earlier Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) President and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Wednesday took a dig at Congress and said that the grand old party had already ruled the state for 50 years and has done great injustice to Telangana.

“Earlier, there was no fresh water, no drinking water, industries shut down without electricity, farmers suicide and others. After the formation of Telangana, we are resolving the issues one by one. We have resolved the issues of water and electricity,” he said.

While the polling for the 40-member Mizoram Assembly and the first phase of polling for the Chhattisgarh Assembly concluded on Tuesday, the elections will be held in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (second phase) on November 17, Rajasthan on November 25 and Telangana on November 30. The counting of votes will take place on December 3 in all the states.

In the previous Assembly election in the state in 2018, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), previously known as Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), won 88 of the 119 seats, hogging 47.4 per cent of the total vote share. The Congress came in a distant second with just 19 seats.