HYDERABAD: While Congress leaders from the state, including a few ministers, landed in Delhi to lobby for MLC and corporation posts on Saturday, the party’s allies – CPI and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) – are confident of being nominated by the grand old party, as promised.Congress leaders have intensified their last-ditch efforts after the ECI sounded the poll bugle for the two vacant MLC posts under the MLAs’ quota. The competition is intense for these positions, as winning the election is considered a cakewalk for the party-nominated candidates.
With the last day for filing nominations set for January 18, leaders and aspirants have started camping in Delhi. Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, and IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu are among the leaders who were in Delhi on Saturday.
Although the ministers’ purpose is not clear, it is understood that they are lobbying for their close aides. MLC aspirants like TPCC working president B Mahesh Kumar Goud and other senior leaders are also in the national capital to lobby for the posts.
As leaders who have unsuccessfully contested and did not get a chance to participate in the recently concluded Assembly elections, they have set their sights on securing a Cabinet berth in Revanth Reddy’s government.
On the other hand, the CPI and TJS are also optimistic that the Congress will honour the promise, especially with LS elections around the corner. It may be mentioned here that the MLC elections for two seats were necessitated following the resignations of BRS MLAs Kadiyam Srihari and Padi Kaushik Reddy.