Cong Telangana unit authorises party high command to finalise RS candidates

The Pradesh Election Committee of the Congress' Telangana unit on Tuesday passed a resolution authorising party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to finalise its candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections to fill three vacancies from the state.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said a unanimous resolution was passed authorising Kharge and the Congress' Central Election Committee to finalise the candidates.

The meeting, attended by Deepa Dasmunshi -- the All India Congress Committee's (AICC) Telangana in-charge -- and other leaders, discussed the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha elections and finalised an action plan, he said.

Elections will be held to fill three vacancies in the Rajya Sabha from Telangana.

Reddy -- who is also the Congress' Telangana unit chief -- said applications from probable candidates for the Lok Sabha polls will be accepted at Gandhi Bhavan, the party's headquarters in the state.

Telangana has 17 Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress is likely to finalise the candidates for the Lok Sabha polls by February 15, Reddy told PTI.

He added that the party aims to win all 17 seats in the state.

Reddy also said, "We don't see any difference between the BJP and the BRS. They are one and the same."

The chief minister further announced that the state government will conduct a caste survey, as announced earlier, and a resolution on this will be shortly passed in the assembly.

"We will conduct a BC (Backward Classes) caste census. It is Rahul Gandhi's commitment," he said.