HYDERABAD: The ruling Congress party has recommended eight names to fill the vacant MLC posts under the Local Authorities Constituencies (LAC) category.
Biennial elections to the vacant seats of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council will take place on March 30.
It is learnt that both Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and APCC president D Srinivas met at the former’s camp office near Begumpet here to discuss and recommend candidates’ names for the vacant MLC seats. The proposed list of names will be approved by the party high command. Four sitting MLCs -- R Venkatram Reddy from Nizamabad, K Sarveswara Rao (Visakhapatnam), V Bhoopal Reddy (Medak) and Nethi Vidyasagar (Nalgonda) -- have been retained for a six-year term. Konda Murali (Warangal), Sudershan Reddy (Karimnagar), Pothula Rama Rao (Prakasam) and Jagadeeshwar Reddy (Mahaboobnagar) are among those recommended for the vacant MLC posts. The party has not taken any decision in respect of vacant post pertaining to Khammam. The Chief Minister and the PCC chief have also discussed about the candidates to be selected for one Rajya Sabha seat which fell vacant with the resignation of former TDP leader C Ramachandraiah (who later joined the PRP.
As per the Election Commission schedule, filing of nominations for the vacant MLC seats will take place between March 6 and 13, scrutiny on March 14, withdrawal of nominations on 16, elections on 30 and counting of votes on April 4. In all, nine vacancies follow expiry of term of office of nine members on May 1, 2009. The retiring members include G Venkata Ramana Reddy, G Venkata Seshu, K Sarveswara Rao, N Vidyasagar, V Bhoopal Reddy, A Revanth Reddy, C Sudhakar Rao, M Bhatti Vikramarka and R Venkataramana Reddy.