Congress second list for Telangana in a day or two

Hyderabad, Oct 24 (IANS) The Congress is likely to announce second list of candidates for Telangana Assembly elections on Wednesday or Thursday. 

A meeting of the Central Election Committee of the party is scheduled on Wednesday in New Delhi to discuss and decide the candidates.

The Congress on October 15 announced list of 55 candidates, leaving 64.

The Screening Committee met on October 21 and 22 at General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal’s residence in Delhi.

Presided over by Committee Chairman M.P. Muralidharan, the meeting was attended by state unit President A. Revanth Reddy, AICC incharge for Telangana Manikrao Thakre, MPs Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy, and election strategist Sunil Kanugolu.

The Screening Committee considered the names but could not reach to a final conclusion in respect of some constituencies. It shortlisted the candidates and sent the list to the CEC for approval. However, the presence of two or more strong contenders in some constituencies may make the CEC’s task difficult.

During the meeting of Screening Committee, arguments both for and against the applicants were put forth. Amperpet, LB Nagar, Narsapur, Suryapet, Khairatabad, and Jubilee Hills among the constituencies where there was lack of unanimity.

Congress sources say 35-40 candidates may be announced in the second list.

The announcement for constituencies where is no unanimity and also those being demanded by the Left parties may be kept pending. As the seat sharing with the Left parties not yet finalised, the Congress leadership is likely to keep the segments being claimed by them pending. The CPI and the CPI-M are demanding two seats each. 

As some leaders from the BRS and the BJP are likely to join the Congress, the Central Election Committee is likely to wait for a few more days before announcing final list. 

The Congress has already successfully lured several leaders from the BRS and the BJP during the last 3-4 months. Some of them were accommodated in the first list. They include a couple of sitting MLAs of BRS who recently defected to Congress. Some more leaders are likely to be included in the second list. 

However, as the fielding of defectors in few constituencies led to dissidence among seniors and loyalists, the Congress leadership is treading cautiously.

Elections to 119-member Assembly are scheduled on November 30.

--IANS

ms/vd