Two Cong legislators likely to contest RS polls on United Andhra platform

Hyderabad: Congress legislators from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh are seeking to embarrass the party by defeating it in the biennial elections to Rajya Sabha slated for 7 February. An MLA and an MLC are planning to jump into the contest with the support of their party colleagues in the name of ‘Samaikya Andhra Pradesh’ (united AP). [caption id=“attachment_1355743” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] Senior-most MLA JC Diwakar Reddy, who rebelled against the party and went to the extent of seeking replacement of Sonia Gandhi as Congress president, has announced today that he was entering the fray for Rajya Sabha. “I am certainly in the fray,” he told reporters in the Assembly lobbies. MLC Chaitanya Raju, who hails from East Godavari district of coastal Andhra, too said he would contest the RS election. Raju is said to be backed by a minister from coastal Andhra while JC Reddy is entering the fray on his own. While JC Reddy claimed to have obtained signatures of at least 10 MLAs in support of his candidature, Raju is in the process of mustering the required numbers. The Rajya Sabha elections have come at a time when the Seemaandhra Congress MLAs were seething over the high command’s decision to bifurcate the state by ignoring their views. The legislators seeking to contest the biennial election are said to be banking on the support of majority of the 100 Congress MLAs from Seemaandhra region. The Congress is yet to announce its official candidates for the Rajya Sabha election from the state. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana are expected to discuss the prospective names with high command leaders in New Delhi tomorrow. PTI