Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana are virtually vying with each other in getting MLC seats to their own close confidants.

Both Kiran and Botsa went to New Delhi in a span of two hours and presented their own lists of ticket aspirants. Both the leaders had meetings with AICC in-charge of Andhra affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad separately, rather than together, thereby sending signals that they had their own lists of candidates. They are expected to meet party president Sonia Gandhi later in the evening.

Interestingly, several candidates aspiring for the MLC seats, who figure in the lists of both the CM and the PCC president, are also camping in New Delhi. The Andhra Pradesh Bhavan is packed with the ticket aspirants. Apart from Kiran and Botsa, even Deputy CM Damodar Rajanarasimha is making his own lobbying for the MLC seats.

The Congress will get five MLC seats and Kiran wants to field the sixth candidate as well, subject to the approval from the high command. Let us see who will have the last laugh in the finalisation of candidates.