Andhra Pradesh chief minister K. Rosaiah on Monday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other central leaders of the party. In the meetings the chief minister discussed issues relating to Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for next month and sought greater central assistance for cyclone ravaged areas of the state.
Briefing media after the meetings the chief minister said, “I made a courtesy call to the Congress president and discussed with her the issues relating to Rajya Sabha elections. Five members from the state are retiring and of these, we can bag four seats comfortably. I gave the party chief details of the aspirants. Some are sitting members, some new faces and others from outside the state.”
When asked, whether he suggested any name, Mr Rosaiah said, it was not the occasion for him to suggest names.
“On such issues Congress president takes a final decision and her decision is my decision and everyone should accept it,” he said, adding that the list of aspirants, however, comprised names from all the three regions of the state — Coastal Andhra, Telangana and Rayalseema.
Andhra Pradesh has six RS seats that would go to polls next month of which the Telugu Desam Party is likely to bag two. Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh is one of the likely candidates that Congress may field for one of the four seats that it would surely bag from the state. The chief minister also informed that he, during his meeting with Mrs Gandhi, discussed the by-elections for the 12 seats in the state’s legislative council later this year.
The chief minister, meanwhile, also met defence minister A.K. Antony, home minister P. Chidambaram, law minister and AICC in-charge of Andhra Pradesh M. Veerappa Moily during the day and sought special assistance from the central government for cyclone affected areas in the state.