CM Off to Delhi for Finalising Candidates for MLA Quota Mlc Polls
Congress Faces Pressure from CPI, AIMIM Amid Last-Minute Candidate Selection for MLC Polls
Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is set to leave for Delhi on Friday, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, according to party sources. They are expected to meet the high command to finalise candidates for four of the five MLC seats under the MLA quota, the elections for which are scheduled to be held on March 20.
The Election Commission issued the notification on March 3, setting March 10 as the last date for filing of nominations. The results are likely to be announced by 5 pm on the same day.
Although only three days remain for the deadline to end, Congress is yet to name its candidates. The delay is attributed to the presence of nearly two dozen serious aspirants. Additionally, the CPI, which was a pre-poll alliance partner of Congress in the 2023 Assembly elections, is demanding one MLC seat.
Meanwhile, the AIMIM is pressing for reallocation of an MLC seat it holds, as its incumbent MLC’s tenure is set to expire on March 29. These external pressures have further complicated the Congress leadership’s decision-making process.
Revanth Reddy intends to present these concerns to the party high command and urge them to finalise the candidate list by March 9.
With its strength of 65 MLAs in the 119-member Legislative Assembly, Congress is poised to win three of the five MLC seats. The BRS, which now has 28 MLAs after the defection of 10 legislators, is expected to secure one seat. The BJP and AIMIM lack the necessary strength to field candidates independently.
