Telangana Elections 2018: Former Maoist ideologue Gaddar ready to contest against KCR

Gaddar, who met Congress president Rahul Gandhi last week, said if all opposition parties make a request to him to contest from Gajwel and ensure that the opposition votes are not divided, he will contest the December 11 election.

File Photo- Former Indian Naxal (Maoist communist group) leader Gummadi Vittal Rao, popularly known as 'Gaddar' / Courtesy: AFP PHOTO/NOAH SEELAM (Photo by NOAH SEELAM / AFP)

Hyderabad: Former Maoist ideologue and revolutionary balladeer Gaddar on Wednesday said he was ready to contest the elections against Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao as the joint candidate of opposition parties. Gaddar, who met Congress president Rahul Gandhi last week, said if all opposition parties make a request to him to contest from Gajwel and ensure that the opposition votes are not divided, he will contest the December 11 election. Rao, who is also President of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), is seeking re-election from Gajwel in the coming elections to Telangana assembly. Gaddar described Gajwel as his birthplace. Gaddar said he did not belong to any party but would support any party to end what he calls 'neo-feudalism' in Telangana. Stating that Telangana state was created with the sacrifices of martyrs, he said the change has not come in the state. Gaddar, whose real name is Gummadi Vittal Rao, told reporters at Kamareddy that after 70 years he has enrolled himself as a voter and had now launched people's movement to end 'neo-feudalism'. "My fight is to end autocratic rule and realise the dreams of the martyrs of Telangana," said Gaddar, who plans to campaign against TRS by singing "people's songs". He appealed to people to make Rahul Gandhi's public meeting at Kamareddy on October 20 a huge success. Gaddar's son G.V. Surya Kiran had joined Congress in April this year. He is said to be keen to contest the Assembly elections.