Explained: This article explains the political background, key decisions, and possible outcomes related to Explained : Congress renominates Abhishek Singhvi, fields Vem Narender Reddy for RS and Its Impact and why it matters right now.
The Congress party has nominated senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Telangana chief minister A. Revanth Reddy’s close associate Vem Narender Reddy as its candidates for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Telangana.
The party leadership opted to give Singhvi another term in the Upper House while selecting Narender Reddy over several senior aspirants who had been lobbying intensively for the second nomination. Both candidates are scheduled to file their nomination papers on Thursday, the final day for submissions.
Polling for the two Rajya Sabha seats from the state is set to take place on 16 March. The vacancies arise as the terms of Singhvi and K.R. Suresh Reddy conclude on 9 April. Suresh Reddy currently serves as the Parliamentary Party leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in the Rajya Sabha.
Singhvi, a senior advocate in the Supreme Court, was elected to the Upper House in 2024 as a Congress nominee, filling the seat vacated by K. Keshava Rao, who resigned after joining the Congress. Party sources indicated that the leadership valued Singhvi’s legal expertise and his articulate interventions in Parliament, viewing them as significant assets at the national level.
The second ticket had attracted considerable interest from prominent Congress figures, including veteran leader Shyam Mohan Anantula, former Rajya Sabha member V. Hanumantha Rao, Telangana State Planning Board Chairman G. Chinna Reddy, former MP Madhu Yaskhi Goud, and M. Kodanda Reddy, who heads the Telangana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Commission.