By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Hyderabad: Congress whip in Rajya Sabha Mohd Ali Khan has been re-nominated by the party from Andhra Pradesh for a second consecutive election to the upper house. But internal regional rivalry in state congress has already started to gloom over biennial election.
Elections are on for 55 Rajya Sabha seats in 16 states. Six seats are falling vacant in Andhra Pradesh. Congress playing a safe game nominated all three sitting Rajaya Sabha members T. Subbarami Reddy, K.V.P. Ramchander Rao and M.A. Khan.
M.A. Khan
TDP has filed two nominations, while TRS fielded Keshav Rao a former senior congress leader who has changed sides over Telangana issue last year.
Congress got a huge blow when the threats from SeemaAndhra congress MLA’s over the plank of United Andhra took a shape of open rebellion, two of its leaders filed nominations with MLA’s support without party’s authorization.
Congress MLC K.V. Satyanarayana Raju alias Chaitanya Raju and MLA Adala Prabhakar Reddy filed their papers as party rebels, creating influx for three official candidates of Congress.
But Mr. M.A. Khan seems unconcerned about the rebellion on the regional lines, “It will not affect me in any way,” he tells in confidence, “I am the only party nominee from Telangana so all the Congress Telangana MLA’s will vote for me,” he told TCN.
Earlier congress party was holding 5 out of 6 seats which are going to polls, but this time around congress hopes to wrestle out at least 3 seats. M.A. Khan is party’s nominee from Telangana and he candidly agreed that even Rajya Sabha elections are getting fought on regional divide in Andhra Pradesh but that he believes will give his nomination more boost.
Mr. M.A. Khan who can’t even think of getting any votes from nearly 100 Seema Andhra Congress MLAs is banking heavily on 43 Telangana congresses MLAs.
But giving him a challenge is TRS nominee Keshav Rao who unlike M.A. Khan was vocal on Telangana issue and as a former senior central congress leader enjoys immense clout over many Telangana congress MLAs.
Another is TDP nominee G. Mohan Rao who also belongs to Telangana region and in the game of single transferable voting system can make difference for Mr. Khan.
Due to break up of alliance MIM with 7 MLAs in the assembly is likely to support TRS nominee over Congress Muslim candidate who also hails from old Hyderabad.
But M.A. Khan claims that his election will be a cake walk, “I have support of 50 MLAs”, he said apart from flaunting his closeness with central congress leadership.
Mr. Khan who was president of Andhra Pradesh Congress Seva Dal, Chairman of Society for Employment Promotion & Training in Twin Cities (SETWIN), and former director of Andhra Bank, prefer to call himself an Aam Aadmi. “I came from grass roots as common congress worker all our party leaders know my struggle they will never let me down in the assembly,” he said.
February 7th voting in the assembly will settle Mr. Khan’s fate will his loyalty to congress high command makes his path easy or his obscure silence over Telangana issue cost him the allegiance of region’s MLAs.