The Hindu : Front Page : Congress RS nominees' list tomorrow

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 13, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Congress RS nominees' list tomorrow

Special Correspondent

Decision emerges from YSR, Keshava Rao's meet with Sonia Gandhi

HOT FAVOURITE?: K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao

HYDERABAD: The All-India Congress Committee will announce the names of party candidates from Andhra Pradesh for the Rajya Sabha elections on March 14.

A decision to this effect was taken after Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy APCC chief K. Keshava Rao and AICC general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Digvijay Singh met party president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Sunday.

According to party sources, the name of K. V. P. Ramachandra Rao, Advisor to the Chief Minister (Public Affairs), has been cleared by the party high command.

Even as the Congress was in the process of finalising its candidates for the four vacant seats, the CPI is understood to have named senior party leader Aziz Pasha for the fifth seat.

After a toss up with party colleague Puvvada Nageswara Rao, the Central Committee seemed to have favoured the former.

It was said after the Congress Working Committee meeting in Delhi on Saturday night, the Chief Minister and the APCC president were closeted with Mr. Digvijay Singh at a senior leader's residence where the selection of candidates was discussed at length.

Preliminary meet

After the preliminary meeting, all three leaders met Ms. Gandhi at 10 Janpath.

The party leadership is also seriously considering the name of the APCC president who belongs to the Backward Class Munnurukapu community but in the event of ticket being given to him the renomination of Union Minister

Dasari Narayana Rao will become difficult, as he too is a Kapu. The race for the remaining seats has become hotter. Sources said there was strong lobbying to renominate Rashid Alvi, who was elected from the State to fill the vacancy caused by the demise of K.M. Khan.

Former Minister Md. Jani is also a strong contender. Significantly, former Union Minister C K. Jaffer Sharif met the Chief Minister in Delhi to explore the possibility of getting nomination from Andhra Pradesh.

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