Abhishek Singhvi elected unopposed for Rajya Sabha from Telangana; Vem Narender Reddy joins Congress line-up | India News
New Delhi: The Congress party has nominated sitting Rajya Sabha member and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and former MLA Vem Narendra Reddy as its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Telangana ahead of polls later this month.According to the Election Commission, polling will be held on March 16 and counting is scheduled at 5 pm on the same day, the nominations were announced as part of the biennial elections to the state council.Two seats in Telangana will fall vacant on April 9, when the terms of Congress Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MP KR Suresh Reddy expire.The numerical strength of the Congress party in the Telangana Assembly, which determines the outcome of Rajya Sabha elections through proportional representation, is widely expected to see Singhvi retain his seat.The Congress has also fielded former MLA and adviser to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Vem Narendra Reddy, who is considered a close aide of the Chief Minister.Reacting to his nomination, Narendra Reddy expressed gratitude to the party leadership. In a post on X, he thanked Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharg, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, MP Priyanka Gandhi, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Congress in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Wickramaka and Telangana PCC President Mahesh Kumar Gaur.The Telangana seats are part of the 37 Rajya Sabha constituencies across 10 states that are set to fall vacant in April with the expiry of the terms of sitting members. These constituencies belong to Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana.As per the Election Commission schedule, the election notification was issued on February 26, starting the nomination process. The last date for submission of nominations is March 5, scrutiny is scheduled for March 6 and candidates are allowed to withdraw their nominations till March 9.
