Hyderabad: The Congress is attempting to quell dissent within the party before it releases the final list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls from Telangana state. The list is likely to be released on March 27.
As the Congress is facing the problem of plenty, TPCC chief and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is talking to ticket aspirants from several constituencies through teleconference from Hyderabad and convincing them to work for the victory of the party, irrespective of who gets the ticket, party sources said.
The AICC's central election committee (CEC) is expected to meet on March 27 in Delhi to finalise the names of the candidates for the pending eight Lok Sabha seats. Revanth Reddy, Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, and Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy will leave for Delhi to take part in the CEC meeting.
The AICC announced the first list with five candidates on March 8 and the second list with four candidates on March 21. It kept another eight seats pending due to tough competition among multiple ticket aspirants. The party is facing a tough situation in selecting candidates for Khammam, Bhongir, and Warangal Lok Sabha seats.
The Chief Minister is reportedly assuring them that he will personally take the responsibility of safeguarding their political career and promising to accommodate them in nominated posts in the party and government in the coming days who work sincerely for the party's victory.
Revanth Reddy aims to win at least 14 Lok Sabha seats out of 17 from Telangana state and appealed to party leaders and cadre to work with commitment for the next two months to achieve this goal.
There is heavy competition for tickets for all the Lok Sabha seats, except the Hyderabad constituency, where the AIMIM is strong. Revanth Reddy reportedly recommended the names of former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin and Feroz Khan for this seat. Both of them contested the recent Assembly polls from Jubilee Hills and Nampally respectively and lost.
There is also competition for Nizamabad and Karimnagar Lok Sabha seats. While MLC T.Jeevan Reddy is seeking the Nizamabad ticket, former MLA A.Praveen Reddy and Teenmaar Mallanna are in the race for the Karimnagar ticket.
The party leadership is reportedly in favour of giving the Medak Lok Sabha ticket to a candidate from Backward Classes. BC leader Neelam Madhu is seeking the Medak ticket.
