Revanth Leaves for Delhi: LS Polls, Funds for TS on Agenda

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy left for Delhi on Monday evening to meet AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, and other senior national leaders to discuss the selection of candidates for Lok Sabha polls and filling nominated posts, sources said.

He is expected to stay in Delhi on Tuesday and likely to return to the city late Tuesday or Wednesday morning, given that he has sought the appointment of a few Union ministers to seek clearance of pending funds and projects to Telangana.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu accompanied Revanth Reddy to Delhi.

Revanth Reddy reportedly sought an appointment with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, among others.

Sources said that the Chief Minister would request Nirmala Sitharaman to provide interest-free loans or soft loans to the state government, citing the huge financial burden the state is facing due to `1 lakh crore loans secured by the previous BRS regime from banks, at high interests, for the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme.

He would also seek funds for the second phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail project and Musi Riverfront development programme in his meeting with Hardeep Singh Puri, they said.

Revanth Reddy's meetings with AICC leaders will primarily focus on selection of candidates for Lok Sabha elections.

The TPCC invited applications from ticket aspirants for all 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana from January 31 to February 3, with as many as 309 applications submitted by aspirants. It was previously reported that there is a huge demand for tickets in SC and ST reserved constituencies.

Mahbubabad, an ST-reserved seat, received the highest number of applications, at 48, followed by Warangal, a SC-reserved seat, at 42.

The lowest number of applications were received for Mahbubnagar at 4, followed by Zaheerabad (6), Nalgonda (9) and Nizamabad (9).

The constituencies which received over 20 applications each include Peddapalli (SC-reserved) at 29, Bhongir, at 28, Nagarkurnool (SC), at 26, and Adilabad (ST), at 22.

The constituencies which received between 10 and 20 applications each include Medak (11), Malkajgiri (11), Hyderabad (11), Chevella (12), Karimnagar (14) and Secunderabad (16).

Revanth Reddy will discuss with AICC leaders shortlisting three candidates for each seat, which will be submitted to the party high command for final approval.