HYDERABAD: The Congress has sprung two surprises. If one is senior leader Palvai Govardhan Reddy and the other is PCC general secretary Rapolu Ananda Bhaskar. Bhaskar’s candidature was reportedly finalised late in the night. Bhaskar is a Padmashali, a BC community. Another factor that helped him is that he is from the Telangana region and worked as a journalist in the past. He is considered an intellectual.The names of the other two— Chiranjeevi and Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdary— announced by the party had been in the air for quite some time now. The Telugu Desam too is involved in a prolonged exercise until late in the night. Party president N Chandrababu Naidu wants the two seats in the Rajya Sabha, which it can win, go to industrialist and his close confidant CM Ramesh and BC leader T Devender Goud.Congress picks Palvai, Rapolu in surprise move The names have not been announced yet as there are quite a few aspirants to the seats and any early announcement might trigger trouble in the party. Former ministers Talasani Srinivasa Yadav and Yanamala Ramakrsihnudu want to be sent to Parliament while retiring member MV Mysoora Reddy wants another term.The party leadership, according to sources, zeroed in on Govardhan Reddy since he hails from the Telangana region (Nalgonda) and belongs to the powerful Reddy community. He will take the place of INTUC leader G Sanjiva Reddy who will be retiring now. Said 76-year-old Govardhan Reddy: “My stand on Telangana remains unchanged. I will, however, try to make the party strong.”Chiranjeevi’s name was expected since his nomination was part of the deal struck with Sonia Gandhi for merger of his PRP with the Congress. His election to Rajya Sabha is seen as beginning of his journey into the Union ministry. Though his nomination to the Rajya Sabha will mean that another Assembly seat (Tirupati) will fall vacant, the Congress is not perturbed. As Chiranjeevi is being accommodated, retiring member K Keshava Rao is being kept out since both belong to the Kapu community. Another factor that worked against Keshava Rao is his proximity with TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao.The selection of Renuka Chowdary too is not surprising since her name has been doing the rounds ever since she began utilising her proximity with Sonia Gandhi towards this end. Her position as party spokesperson has helped her realise her objective, analysts said.After meeting party president Sonia Gandhi a couple of days ago, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy returned to Hyderabad on Saturday but PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana is still camping in Delhi. As Monday is the last date for filing of nominations, there is speculation and suspense over who will be the lucky person to be selected for the fourth slot.
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