It is learnt that the Congress High Command has finalized the candidates for the ensuing biennial elections to Rajya Sabha from the State Assembly. According to information, none of the retiring members are likely to get re-nomination.
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana met the party president Sonia Gandhi on Friday evening and discussed about candidates. AICC general secretary and State party affairs in charge Ghulam Nabi Azad also participated in the discussions. Though nothing was announced officially, sources say that none of the outgoing members would get renomination.
Of the six seats falling vacant from the State, Congress would win four and the TDP the rest. All the retiring members, including Dasari Narayana Rao, K Keshav Rao, G Sanjeeva Reddy and Rashid Alvi met Sonia Gandhi and other leaders and sought re-nomination. Still, the leadership is not inclined to give these leaders another term, say sources.
One of the four seats has been reserved by the Congress High Command for Chiranjeevi. It is being said that the party may nominate Jaffer Shariff or Shakeel Ahmed in the place of Rashid Alvi. As Chiranjeevi belonging to the film industry and Kapu community is being accommodated, the High Command has reportedly decided not to give another term for Dasari. The Congress High Command has been very unhappy about K Kesava Rao for his outbursts on Telangana, despite being a member of the Congress Working Committee, the highest policy deciding body of the party. He is most unlikely to get nomination this time. Former Union minister Renuka Choudary has been trying for one of the seats. As she is close to Sonia Gandhi, it is being said that she might get one of the seats.
Congress leadership reportedly proposes to give one of the seats to a leader from the Telangana region. Suresh Reddy is in the forefront in this quota. Though Y S Vivekananda Reddy, brother of late chief minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, T Venkattram Reddy, owner of Deccan Chronicle newspaper and Girish Sanghi, owner of the Vaarta Telugu newspaper also have been trying for RS entry, luck may not favour any of them, say sources. (NSS)