Congress HC to take final call on RS candidates: Botsa

Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana on Tuesday said the process of short listing the candidates for ensuing Rajya Sabha elections was on.

Speaking to media persons here, Botsa said that the list of short listed candidates would be sent to the Congress High Command which will take a final decision in this regard. "We will visit Delhi to finalise the list of candidates after consulting the high command because they are the ultimate decision makers," he said.

The PCC chief also did not rule out possibilities of cross-voting during Rajya Sabha elections. He said that the MLAs who are planning to quit Congress might vote the candidates for other political parties in the Rajya Sabha elections.

When asked about the rumours about Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy's plans to launch a new party, Botsa evaded a directly reply and said that a new party for Samaikhyandhra would be welcomed. However, he said that the proposed party would not prosper if it was being launched only to contest elections. He also advocated the extension of time period to discuss the State Reorganisation Bill in the State legislature.