Cong high command summons CM, TPCC chief for RS picks
The Congress high command has summoned Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to New Delhi on Wednesday to finalise the party’s candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. Revanth Reddy is scheduled to leave for Delhi on Wednesday morning and return to Hyderabad the same night after consultations with the party leadership.
The high command has also called Mahesh Kumar Goud, president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC). Congress Central Election Committee member N Uttam Kumar Reddy and AICC in-charge general secretary Meenakshi Natarajan are expected to join the discussions in Delhi.
Sources said the opinion of Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka may be sought over phone, as he is currently occupied with his son’s wedding celebrations that began on Tuesday night.
On the other hand, TPCC chief Mahesh Kumar Goud on Tuesday clarified that Justice Sudarshan Reddy is not seeking a Rajya Sabha seat and reiterated that the party’s nominees would be finalised by Wednesday. He said the high command would decide whether one or two candidates from the state would be given Rajya Sabha berths.
According to Goud, discussions were held with AICC general secretary KC Venugopal during his recent visit to the state. He said a detailed 30-minute meeting on Rajya Sabha elections had been conducted, taking social group representation into consideration.
Goud added that 16 aspirants have applied for Rajya Sabha tickets and their names have been forwarded to the party high command. Four prominent leaders from the Backward Classes (BC) community are among those seeking nomination, and the list includes aspirants from both BC and Scheduled Caste (SC) communities.
The last date for filing nominations is March 5 and the elections would be held on March 16. Party sources indicated that the Congress high command may announce the candidates on Wednesday night or Thursday morning, after which the selected nominees are expected to file their papers immediately.