Senior leaders, former MPs in Congress' first list for T'gana Assembly polls

The first list of 65 candidates announced by the Congress for the December 7 Telangana Assembly elections included several senior leaders, including former MPs and ministers.

The list was released late on Monday night after a marathon meeting of the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) chaired by party president Rahul Gandhi. All state Congress leaders were present at the meeting.

Telangana Congress chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy would fight the polls from Huzurnagar Assembly segment again, while his wife N Padmavati Reddy has been fielded again from Kodad.

K Jana Reddy, who was the leader of opposition in the now-dissolved Assembly has been nominated for Nagarjunasagar constituency, while state Congress working committee president A Revanth Reddy is contesting again from Kodangal.

The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee's campaign committee chairman M Bhatti Vikramarka will trying his luck again from Madhira.

The list includes several former MPs, including Sarvey Satyanarayana for Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly seat, Ponnam Prabhakar from Karimnagar and P Balram Naik from Mahabubabad.

Several party leaders, who were ministers in the Congress government of undivided Andhra Pradesh till 2014, have found place in the list.

Those who joined the party recently have also found a place in the first list. Some of them are C Vijayaramana Rao from Peddapalle, D Anasuyafrom Mulug and Vanteru Pratap Reddy, who would take on TRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in Gajwel.

State Youth Congress president M Anil Kumar Yadav has been fielded from Musheerabad where his rival is Telangana BJP chief K Laxman.