Renuka Chowdhury, Anil Kumar Yadav Congress Rajya Sabha Candidates

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Wednesday officially announced former union minister Renuka Chowdhury and former MP Anjan Kumar Yadav's son Anil Kumar Yadav its Rajya Sabha candidates from Telangana.

AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge approved the two names.

The Congress high command surprised everyone by deciding to give both the seats from Telangana announced today to leaders from the State.

Anil Kumar Yadav's name especially stands out. It appears that the Congress leadership has given him an opportunity, to impress the youth.

Yadav thanked the party leadership for announcing him as its Rajya Sabha member.

"It is a great gesture to give a chance to a young man like me in the Rajya Sabha. This is an example of those who work hard for the development of the Congress getting positions. And my getting the post is the result of the work of all the Youth Congress workers," he said.

Chowdhury and Yadav are part of the first list of candidates released today by the Congress for the upcoming Rajya Sabha biennial elections.

As per an AICC release, the party also approved the candidatures of Sonia Gandhi from Rajasthan, Dr Akhilesh Prasad Singh from Bihar, Abhishek Manu Singhvi from Himachal Pradesh and Chandrakant Handore from Maharashtra. It has also nominated Ajay Maken, Dr Syed Naseer Hussain and G C Chandrasekhar from Karnataka, and Ashok Singh from Madhya Pradesh.

The biennial Rajya Sabha elections are scheduled for February 27.