KCR Wants MLC Polls To Be Unanimous

All four major political parties, including the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, are trying to ensure the unanimous election of their candidates for the six MLCs seats that will have MLAs voting for them, and for which the notification will be issued on May 14.

Going by the current strengths of the various parties in the Telangana State Legislative Assembly, the TRS can get four seats while the Congress and TDP-BJP combine can get one each.

In case the TRS decides to field a fifth candidate, then polling will be inevitable. However, according to sources, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao wants the election to be unanimous. With the support of 10 rebel MLAs, including four each of the Congress and the TDP, and the seven MLAs of MIM, the TRS can easily win an additional seat. But KCR reportedly wants to avoid the risk of exposing the rebel MLAs to the Anti-Defection Law. In case of polling, the Congress and TDP will issue whips which will consequently result in the disqualification of the rebel MLAs if they vote in favour of the TRS candidate.

Meanwhile, the parties have begun the exercise to shortlist their candidates for the MLC polls. The candidatures of Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari, R & B Minister Tummala Nageshwara Rao and ex-MLC Yadav Reddy as TRS nominees is almost certain. There are over half-a-dozen contenders for the fourth seat.

Similarly, the Congress is reportedly considering the candidature of TPCC Mahila Congress chief Akula Lalitha although former PCC chiefs D Srinivas and Ponnala Lakshmaiah and ex-minister D Sridhar Babu too have been trying hard to get themselves nominated for the lone seat.

The TDP is most likely to nominate its candidate for the MLC polls as it had supported the BJP candidates in the graduates constituencies' elections.

The notification for this round of MLC polls will be issued on May 14, and the last date for filing nominations will be May 21. Polling, if required, will be held on 1st June, and the counting of the votes will commence on the same day at 5 pm. (INN)