Revanth compiles list of candidates for MLC

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is understood to have compiled a list of potential candidates for the upcoming MLC elections under the MLAs' quota, which is scheduled to be held on March 20.

As the deadline for filing nominations is March 10, Revanth Reddy met at his residence AICC in-charge for Telangana Meenakshi Natarajan, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, and minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and reportedly finalised the list of probable candidates for the MLC seats.

According to party sources, the Chief Minister has shortlisted three potential candidates for each of the four MLC seats, which the Congress is expected to win. The election will be held for five seats under MLAs quota and the Congress expects to win four seats.

The Chief Minister is scheduled to travel to Delhi on Friday, March 7, to present the list to the party high command for the final selection of four candidates for four seats. During his meeting, Revanth Reddy is also expected to bring to the notice of party high command about the demands from the AIMIM and the CPI, who have requested one seat each from the MLAs quota.

If the party leadership agrees to give one MLC seat to either the MIM or the CPI, the Congress would field only three candidates.

The Congress is confident of winning three out of the five MLC seats with its current strength in the Assembly. However, they aim to secure a fourth seat with the support of the MIM, 10 defected BRS MLAs, and possible cross-voting by other BRS MLAs.

The Election Commission had earlier issued the notification for the MLC elections on March 3, with the last date for filing nominations set for March 10. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on March 11, and the last date for withdrawals is March 13. The polling will be held on March 20 from 9 am to 4 pm, and the results will be declared at 5 pm the same day.

If only five candidates are in the race, the polling will be cancelled, and the five candidates will be declared unopposed.

The Congress, with its current strength of 65 MLAs in the 119-member House, is expected to win three MLC seats. The BRS, which has 28 MLAs (after the defection of 10 of its MLAs to Congress), is predicted to win one seat. Both the BJP and the MIM do not have the required number of MLAs to independently field candidates.

Out of the five MLCs, whose terms expire on March 29, four are from the BRS, and one from the MIM. The MIM had earlier won its seat with the support of the BRS. Now, the MIM is demanding that the Congress cede one MLC seat to it, while the CPI, which fought the Assembly elections in alliances with the Congress, is also lobbying for a seat.

A fierce lobbying is underway within the Congress, as several senior leaders vie for the MLC seats, emphasising loyalty, seniority, and caste representation. Notable contenders include Vem Narender Reddy, the Chief Minister’s advisor, who is optimistic about securing an MLC seat with Revanth Reddy’s backing, former MLA Jagga Reddy, seeking a seat under the Reddy quota, former MPs M. Anjan Kumar Yadav, Madhu Yashki Goud, and Neelam Madhu Mudhiraj, who are vying for the BC quota seat, M. Sunitha Rao and Saritha Tirupatiah Yadav, seeking the women’s quota seat, Addanki Dayakar and S.A. Sampath Kumar, hoping to secure a seat under the Dalit quota, Mohd

Ali Shabbir, Mohd Azharuddin, and Feroz Khan, all aiming for the minorities’ quota.

The BRS MLCs, Yegge Mallesham and M.S. Prabhakar, who joined the Congress, are also seeking renewal of their MLC positions as their current terms come to an end on March 29.