Hyderabad:
The ruling Congress in the state is facing fresh trouble over the choice of candidates for some of the 18 Assembly constituencies facing by-elections next month.
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Pradesh Congress Committee President Botsa Satyanarayana spent the last two days in New Delhi finalising the list of candidates after elaborate discussions with All India Congress Committee (AICC) leaders, including Sonia Gandhi but the names are yet to be announced officially.
But trouble began after the Chief Minister returned to Hyderabad with government Chief whip Mr Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy and his wife Jyothi, a strong aspirant for the Parakal seat in Warangal district, leading a protest outside the Chief Minister's camp office.
There were reports that the name of a local leader Mr Samma Rao, who moved to Congress from Telugu Desam on Tuesday, was finalised for the Parakal seat leading to protests.
Mr Ramana Reddy, along with his wife Jyothi, met the Chief Minister this morning and demanded that the party reconsider its decision to field Mr Samma Rao in Parakal.
"In the first place, we never sought a ticket but Jyothi's name was floated", they said.
"When we made necessary arrangements for the contest, the party chose to give the ticket to an outsider," Mr Ramana Reddy was said to have told Mr Kiran Kumar.
The Chief whip also told the Chief Minister about the efforts that he had made to strengthen the party in the constituency after the exit of Konda Surekha.
Mr Gandra's supporters, who staged a sit-in outside the CM's camp office, raised slogans threatening to defeat Mr Samma Rao if he was fielded from Parakal.