At least half a dozen progeny of yesteryear’s political heavyweights of the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh have lined up for party ticket to sneak into the state Legislative Council.
Published: 03rd March 2013 10:41 AM | Last Updated: 03rd March 2013 10:41 AM
At least half a dozen progeny of yesteryear’s political heavyweights of the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh have lined up for party ticket to sneak into the state Legislative Council.
From the scions of former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao to sons and daughters of ex-ministers and former MPs of the Congress are staking claim for the party ticket for the five MLC seats, which the ruling party is sure of winning in the elections to be held on March 21 for 10 seats under the MLAs quota.
Apart from these five, four seats for which the governor will nominate are also being eyed by the party leaders who are desperate to enter the Upper House of the state legislature.
As many as three persons from Narasimha Rao’s family are vying with one another to enter the Upper House. They are, daughter S Vani Devi, son P V Ranga Rao, whose term in the Council under governor’s quota is ending on March 29, and another son P V Rajeswara Rao.
Vani Devi is an eminent educationist and also runs Sri Venkateswara Fine Arts College at Madhapur here whereas Ranga Rao, eldest son of Narasimha Rao, served as education minister in Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy’s cabinet.
Narasimha Rao’s second son Rajeswara Rao was a former MP from Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency.
Some members of Narasimha Rao’s family even called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a day ago and lobbied on behalf of Vani Devi.
As his term in the Upper House is ending on March 29, Ranga Rao has also intensified lobbying for another term.
Former deputy chief minister C Jagannadha Rao’s son Srinivas, former MP R Surender Reddy’s son R Raghuram Reddy and ex-MP Mallu Ananta Ramulu’s son Mallu Ramesh are also trying their luck. Anantha Ramulu’s brother and former MP Mallu Ravi is also in the competition.
Apart from these leaders, several top leaders of the Congress, not being sure of winning the next year’s Assembly elections, are also lobbying for party ticket to enter into the Legislative Council.
With Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy emerging as a formidable political force in the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, and the strong Telangana sentiment still sweeping the region, several Congress stalwarts are afraid of contesting the direct election to the Assembly next year. Besides, an Assembly election will place a heavy financial burden on them.
Some of them have intensified their lobbying for party nomination for MLC seat by camping in Delhi and using their contacts at the AICC level to secure party nomination. Some others are persuading Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) chief Botcha Satyanarayana to recommend their candidature for the MLC seat to the high command by recalling the services of their fathers to the Congress.
For instance, Rajeswara Rao and Ranga Rao met the APCC chief separately here two days ago and sought his help in getting the party ticket for the MLC posts.
Like them, former minister Mallu Anantha Ramulu’s son Mallu Ramesh also met Kiran Reddy and Botcha to recommend his name for the party ticket.
“I have met the chief minister and the APCC chief and requested them to recommend my name for the party ticket for MLC post. Since my father served the party for several years, it would be appropriate for the party leadership to give me an opportunity to continue my father’s services for the public and the party,” said Ramesh.
When asked about the intense competition between the aspirants in the party for the MLC posts, Botcha said, “All the applications are being sent to the high command. The AICC top brass will only finalise the party candidates list for the MLC polls.”
No comments:
Post a Comment