Revanth, Bhatti Meet Sonia Gandhi, Ask Her To Contest From Khammam

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy on Monday called on AICC leader Sonia Gandhi at her Delhi residence to invite her to contest from Khammam in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The trio also explained to her the various schemes the state government will implement soon. In the 30-minute-long meeting, they discussed the free bus commutes for women and the positive response it garnered, with zero tickets worth at least `15 crore issued since its implementation.

Revanth Reddy told Sonia Gandhi that they are in the process of implementing some more of the Six Guarantees she had announced for Telangana. They highlighted to the AICC leader the state government’s decision to increase the Arogyasri pension limit from `5 lakh to `15



lakh, supply up to 200 free units of power, and supply domestic gas cylinders at `500 each to eligible beneficiaries. Before meeting Sonia Gandhi, the Chief Minister met Rahul Gandhi and took part in the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Ranchi of Jharkhand. The Chief Minister also explained to him the schemes being implemented in Telangana.

Sources said that the leaders wanted Sonia Gandhi to contest from Khammam as it was a Congress stronghold, given that nine Congress MLAs were elected from the region in the state Assembly polls. Many senior leaders have applied for tickets to contest from the Khammam Lok Sabha seat. Among those are Deputy Chief Minister's wife Nandini Reddy and minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy's brother Prasad Reddy.