Presidential poll: 38 TRS MLAs would vote for Meira Kumar, claims Congress

Hyderabad: The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) has claimed that 38 MLAs currently in the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) would vote on their conscience in the July 17 Presidential elections.

CLP whip and Alampur MLA SA Sampath Kumar said these 38 MLAs would vote for United Progressive Alliance (UPA) nominee Meira Kumar instead of Ram Nath Kovind who has been fielded by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Talking to media on Thursday, Sampath Kumar refused to reveal their names but said several legislators were in touch with him and had informed him that they would be voting for Meira Kumar.

He said the Congress was quite hopeful of over 90 per cent of MLAs backing Meira Kumar as their conscience was against voting for Kovind who had no role in the Telangana statehood movement.

Meira Kumar was instrumental in passing the Telangana Bill despite several odds on the last sitting of the Lok Sabha in 2014; without her the Bill would not have passed, he said.

He appealed to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to change his mind and vote for Meira Kumar.