The Congress high command has invited Praja Rajyam Party president Chiranjeevi for talks here, raising the possibility of an alliance for the Rajya Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh. It has also told party MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy not to embark on his “Odharpu” yatra in the Telangana region, which had witnessed large-scale protests over the statehood issue.
A senior party leader who declined to be identified said that Chiranjeevi has been invited but did not specify when he was coming. The PRP had recently announced that it would contest the Rajya Sabha elections.
The elections to six Rajya Sabha seats from Andhra Pradesh will be held on June 14 following the retirement of five Congress members — Union minister of state for environment Jairam Ramesh, J.D. Seelam, V. Hanumantha Rao, Girish Sanghi and Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy — besides the CPI-M’s Penumalli Madhu.
The Election Commission has decided to hold the biennial election from Andhra in June. While the date of notification is May 28, the last date of making nomination is June 4. The scrutiny of nominations is on June 5.
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Resentment over RS tickets in SP
AMITA VERMA
LUCKNOW
May 27: Resentment is brewing among the veterans in the Samajwadi Party over the distribution of tickets for Rajya Sabha and Vidhan Parishad biennial elections.
Though none of the veterans are willing to speak on record, the mood of their supporters clearly indicates that all is no longer well within the party. “It seems that the Amar Singh factor has been the main criteria for distribution of tickets and loyalty no longer matters in the party. Both Jaya Bachchan and Yeshwant Singh — the candidate who was nominated for Vidhan Parishad late on Wednesday in place of Ram Naresh Yadav — have been Amar Singh loyalists in the past and they changed loyalties only after Amar Singh was expelled form the party. This means that it pays to be a Amar Singh loyalist in the Samajwadi Party,” said a senior party leader. The Samajwadis are upset over the fact that senior party leader Mohan Singh has been denied a ticket to the Rajya Sabha to make way for Ms Bachchan.