Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi and former party MLA Vem Narendra Reddy filed their nominations for two Rajya Sabha seats in the biennial elections from Telangana on Thursday, the last date for nominations.
Both candidates are likely to be elected unopposed, with the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samiti party staying away from the contest.
“Although an independent candidate has also filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections, it is bound to be rejected as it does not contain the mandatory signatures of at least 10 MLAs required for the elections,” an official in the assembly secretariat privy to the developments said.
Singhvi and Narinder Reddy submitted various sets of nomination papers to Election Officer Upender Reddy in the Telangana State Assembly in the presence of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, Ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLLCs.
“With no other valid nominations expected, both Singhvi and Narendra Reddy are set to be elected unanimously,” the above-mentioned official said.
Two Rajya Sabha seats from Telangana have fallen vacant as the tenure of Singhvi and BRS leader KR Suresh Reddy is set to end on April 9. The Congress renominated Singhvi for another term in the Senate, while sending Narendra Reddy to replace Suresh Reddy.
Singhvi, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Telangana in August 2024 and has been representing the state since then.
Speaking to reporters after filing his nomination, Singhvi thanked the party leadership for trusting him and said he would continue to work for the interests of Telangana. “I believe that many of the initiatives that we also support at the Supreme Court are in the public interest of this great country,” he said.
Narendra Reddy also expressed his gratitude to the Congress leadership. “I will work to represent Telangana effectively in Parliament,” he said.
Reddy, a former MLA from Mahabubabad, is currently working as Advisor (Public Affairs) to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and is considered his close aide. Both the leaders had earlier worked together in the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) before joining the Congress.
