T Jeevan Reddy: To Regain Congress Stronghold In Nizamabad

Tatiparthi Jeevan Reddy (T Jeevan Reddy), a seasoned Congress politician and candidate for the Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency, was recently caught in a controversy over a slapping incident. While the Congress leader was undertaking an election campaign in the constituency, he was captured in a video slapping a woman, as she reportedly expressed her intention to vote for the ‘flower’ symbol in the upcoming election. The video apparently went viral on social media and received lots of flak against the Congress leader.

Jeevan Reddy is fielded against the incumbent MP, Dharmapuri Arvind of the BJP, and former BRS MLA Bajireddy Govardhan. Currently, he serves as Karimnagar Graduate MLC.

Jeevan Reddy’s entry into politics was in 1981, and he was the first elected president of the ‘Malayala Panchayat Samiti’. In 1983, he first got elected as a legislator while associating with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). After rifting with the party, he joined Congress in 1984. He got elected as an MLA in 1989, 1996, 1999, 2004, and 2014 and served as a cabinet minister two times.

The Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency comprises seven Assembly segments, including Armur, Bodhan, Nizamabad (Urban), Nizamabad (Rural), Balkonda, Koratla, and Jagtial. Historically, the Nizamabad parliamentary seat was a Congress bastion, though the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) won it during different general elections. After the formation of Telangana in 2014, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) (then Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency Telangana Rashtra Samithi) won the seat. In the 2019 polls, sitting BRS MP K Kavitha was ousted from power by the BJP’s Dharmapuri Arvind. As per the reports, the BJP is gaining strength in Nizamabad, and Hindutva is the strong focus of the party in the region.