HYDERABAD: With the Election Commission announcing that elections to the Rajya Sabha will be held on March 30, lobbying by sitting Rajya Sabha members for renomination and by those who want to enter the portals of the Upper House afresh is gathering momentum in the Congress as well as in the TDP.As the Congress can win four of the six seats from the state that will fall vacant, the list of the aspirants also is quite big.The Telugu Desam will be able to win two seats on its own.The six Rajya Sabha members from the state who will be retiring on April 2 are: K Keshava Rao, G Sanjiva Reddy, Dasari Narayana Rao, Rashid Alvi (all Congress), MV Mysoora Reddy (TDP) and Syed Azeez Pasha (CPI).Those who are seeking renomination are Keshava Rao, Sanjiva Reddy and Narayana Rao but, in all likelihood, Keshava Rao might be sent to the Rajya Sabha for another term because of his ability to cause discomfiture to the party using Telangana slogan if he is steeped in state politics.Sanjiva Reddy, the INTUC leader, is also expected to be re-nominated from another state if not from Andhra Pradesh.Rashid Alvi may be fielded from Uttar Pradesh.Another term for Dasari Narayaana Rao looks unlikely as Chiranjeevi, who belongs to the same caste, is being considered for a Rajya Sabha seat.Another reason why Rao might be kept aside is that he and Chiranjeevi do not see eye to eye.That leaves two seats open to lobbying.Former minister YS Vivekananda Reddy has thrown his hat in the ring.He has met party chief Sonia Gandhi recently and made a request to her to that effect.Then there are Md Ali Shabber and former speaker KR Suresh Reddy who want to replace Rashid Alvi and Sanjiva Reddy respectively if the latter two are fielded from other states.If Sanjiva Reddy is sent to the Rajya Sabha from another state, the seat held by him will surely go to another Reddy — either Suresh or Vivekananda— sources say.Ever sine she lost her Khammam Lok Sabha election to the TDP candidate in 2009, Renuka Chowdary has been eager to go to the Upper House.She has done enough ground work and may spring a surprise considering her clout with the party president.The name of industrialist GV Krishna Reddy name is also doing the rounds.As far as Telugu Desam is concerned, Chandrababu Naidu is keen to distribute the two seats between the Telangana and Andhra regions.From Andhra the front-runner is former finance minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu but Mysoora Reddy has already requested Naidu to consider him for a second term.Apart from them there are CM Ramesh, the financial muscle of the party, K Ramamohana Rao and Varla Ramaiah among the aspirants.From the Telangana region T Devender Goud and Kadiam Srihari are in the race for the party’s nomination
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