HYDERABAD: The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is set to clear the candidates for the remaining 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana. The Congress Central Election Committee will convene on Tuesday to finalise the candidates for these constituencies.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy visited Delhi on Monday and met former AICC president Sonia Gandhi. He was accompanied by AICC Telangana in-charge Deepa Dasmunshi.
Sources said that Revanth briefed Sonia about the threats from the BJP and BRS that the Congress government in Telangana will be destabilised after the Lok Sabha elections. He said that if the high command gives him the green signal, the Congress would welcome BRS MLAs into its fold. However, Sonia indicated the need to discuss this with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party MP Rahul Gandhi following the conclusion of the Congress Working Committee meeting.
The chief minister also presented a report on the 100 days of his government and said that five of the six guarantees announced by Sonia before the Telangana Assembly elections have been fulfilled.
Sources said that Revanth, who is also the TPCC president, briefed Sonia on the possible tough contests in certain segments and the social dynamics in candidate allocation for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
He submitted a copy of the opinions gathered from MLAs, contested candidates, and DCC presidents across the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies regarding the candidates to Sonia. The opinions will be submitted to the AICC president.
Discussions also touched upon the finalisation of candidates for certain segments, including Peddapalli, Nagarkurnool, Malkajgiri, Khammam and Adilabad. The recent defections of BRS MPs from Chevella and Warangal — Ranjith Reddy and Pasunoori Dayakar — as well as Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender, were brought to Sonia’s attention by the TPCC president.
Revanth requested Sonia to ensure Ranjith Reddy is named the candidate from Chevella, to which she said that it would be discussed in the Central Election Committee meeting.
The Congress is yet to finalise candidates for Nagarkurnool, Bhongir, Secunderabad, Malkajgiri, Hyderabad, Medak, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad, Peddapalli, Khammam, Chevella and Warangal Lok Sabha constituencies.