Hyderabad, March 4 The Congress party has decided to field senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s close aide and advisor, Vem Narender Reddy, is one of the candidates for Rajya Sabha from Telangana.
The Congress leadership picked Singhvi for another term and preferred Narender Reddy over several senior leaders, who were seen as strong contenders.
Both Singhvi and Narender Reddy will file nominations on Thursday, the last day for filing of nominations.
The elections for two Rajya Sabha seats from the state are scheduled on March 16.
The terms of sitting members Abhishek Manu Singhvi and KR Suresh Reddy will end on April 9, necessitating elections.
Suresh Reddy is currently the BRS Parliamentary Party leader, while Singhvi was elected to the seat as a Congress candidate in 2024, replacing K. Keshava Rao, who resigned after joining the Congress.
The high command decided to send Supreme Court lawyer Singhvi to the upper House for another term as his legal acumen and articulate presence in Parliament are seen as key assets for the party at the national level.
Several senior leaders were engaged in hectic lobbying for the second ticket. Veteran Congress leader Shyam Mohan Anantula, Chief Minister’s advisor Vem Narender Reddy, former Rajya Sabha member V. Hanumantha Rao, Chairman of the Telangana State Planning Board, G Chinna Reddy, Former MP Madhu Yaskhi Goud, Chairman of the Telangana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Commission, M Kodanda Reddy are among the aspirants.
Meanwhile, Narender Reddy took to social media to thank AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, MP Priyanka Gandhi, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Congress Affairs In-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka and PCC President Mahesh Kumar Goud.
A few months after Congress came to power in Telangana, Narender Reddy was appointed as the Advisor (Public Affairs) to the Chief Minister.
He is a former MLA from Mahabubabad representing the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the combined Andhra Pradesh. He was elected as MLA in 2004.
He unsuccessfully contested the byelection from the Hanumakonda constituency in 2012. He also contested the MLC seat from the MLAs’ quota in 2015 but was unsuccessful.
Narender joined the Congress along with Revanth Reddy ahead of the 2018 State Assembly elections. They have shared a warm relationship since their TDP days.
--IANS
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