Revanth, Sonia meet, candidates’ list today

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy met AICC leader Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Monday. The meeting assumed significance ahead of Congress party's central election committee (CEC) meeting on Tuesday, convened to select candidates for Lok Sabha polls. The CEC is also expected to discuss the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly bypoll, which will be held along with the Lok Sabha elections on May 13. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of BRS MLA Lasya Nanditha in a car accident on Outer Ring Road on February 23.

The Congress high command declared candidates for only four Lok Sabha constituencies in its first list on March 8, which include Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, Zaheerabad and Mahabubabad. It is yet to declare candidates for the remaining 13 Lok Sabha constituencies.

The party high command ordered flash surveys in these three constituencies to determine the winning prospects of candidates who are in the race for tickets. The survey teams, spearheaded by the Congress party's poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu, conducted surveys in 13 constituencies simultaneously since Wednesday last. It is learnt that Kanugolu submitted constituency-wise survey reports to the party leadership on Sunday.

Revanth Reddy, Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, who are the members of CEC, will take part in the meeting in Delhi on Tuesday. It is learnt that the CEC meetings will be held for two days on March 19 and 20 and Telangana candidates selection would be taken up on March 19.

Earlier, in combined Andhra Pradesh, there used to be a tradition that was followed by major political parties not to contest bypolls in the event of death of an incumbent MLA and the particular party fields one of the family members of deceased MLA. But after the formation of Telangana state in 2014, then ruling BRS party broke this tradition by fielding candidates in bypolls for Naranyankhed in February 2016 and Palair in May 2016 which were held due to the death of incumbent Congress MLAs P. Kista Reddy and Ramreddy Venkat Reddy. The BRS wrested both these seats from the Congress.

Against this backdrop, the Congress is keen to contest the Secunderabad Cantonment seat even if BRS allots a ticket to one of the family member's of late MLA Lasya Nanditha. Recently, Lasya Niveditha, sister of late MLA, expressed her desire to contest bypoll from the Secunderabad Cantonment and urged the party leadership to nominate her for the bypoll.