After keeping all waiting, the main opposition Congress and its TDP ally in Telangana has finally released their first lists of candidates for the December 7 assembly elections.
Both constituents of 'Mahakutami' or the grand alliance announced their candidates late on Monday.
While Congress released a list of 65 candidates, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) named nine.
The process of filing of nominations for the elections to 119-seat assembly that began on Monday, will continue till November 18.
The Congress, which is leading the four-party 'Mahakutami', plans to contest 95 seats, leaving the remaining for TDP, Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) and Communist Party of India (CPI).
However, a formal agreement over seat sharing was yet to be reached.
Former union ministers, former state ministers, former MPs, sitting legislators and those who crossed over to the Congress from other parties have been included in the list of 65 candidates.
State Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy would be seeking re-election from Huzurnagar constituency, while his wife Padmavati Reddy would again contest from Kodad.
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader K. Jana Reddy (Nagarjunasagar) while its campaign committee chairman and working president Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka (Madhira), working presidents Ponnam Prabhakar and A. Revanth Reddy would be in the fray from Karimnagar and Kodangal seats.
Among former union ministers Sarve Satyanarayana (Secunderabad Cantonment), while P. Balram Naik (Mahabubabad). Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council, Mohammed Ali Shabbir is Congress candidate from Kamareddy.
Former Deputy Chief Minister and chairman of manifesto committee C. Damodar Rajanarasimha has been fielded from Andole.
Congress has named V. Pratap Reddy as its candidate against Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K. Chandrashekhar Rao in Gajwel.
Pratap Reddy who had contested on a TDP ticket against Rao and finished runners up in 2014. He has just joined the Congress.
The TDP has also announced its first list of candidates. Prominent among them are former MP and senior leader Nama Nageswara Rao (Khammam), R. Prakash Reddy (Warangal West) and S. Venkat Verraiah (Sattupalli).
Former minister T. Devender Goud's son Virender Goud will contest from Uppal constituency. The lone Muslim candidate in the list is Muzaffar Ali, who will contest from Malakpet constituency in Hyderabad.
--IANS
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