Nethi Vidyasagar Rao, Kadiyam Srihari, Suresh in race for Council Chairman post

Hyderabad: Who will be the next Chairman of Telangana Legislative Council is the talk in the TRS party as the term of the existing Chairman K Swamy Goud came to an end and the sessions are likely to take place during the third week of this month.

The term of K Swamy Goud has ended on May 31 and vice-chairman Nethi Vidyasagar Rao has been taking care of the government programmes and other activities. The election of new chairman is likely to take place when the Governor summons Legislature.

However, there have been discussions within the party as to who would be replacing Swamy Goud.

According to the TRS leaders, the names of Kadiyam Srihari, K R Suresh Reddy and also of Nethi Vidyasagar Rao are doing rounds. Kadiyam Srihari served as minister earlier and he is a member of legislative council.

Suresh Reddy, though he is not a member of the Council, party leaders said that there are chances that he may be given the post going by the experience he has in handling the post of Assembly Speaker during the undivided Andhra Pradesh.

He would have to be first nominated for the council and then should be given the post of the chairman in case party decides to have him as Chairman.

However, the party leaders feel that there is a difficulty in the case of Suresh Reddy since he hails from Nizamabad along with Assembly Speaker P Srinivas Reddy. Apart from both leaders being from Nizamabad, both come from Reddy community.

A section of leaders feel that the chief minister may go ahead with vice-chairman Vidyasagar Rao. He is from a backward caste community and the decision would strike a balance in the caste equation.

The chief minister may continue Rao as the chairman. "There is no rule which says that speaker and chairman should not be from the same district. It is for the chief minister to decide who should be heading the council," said a TRS leader.

There are two MIM members, one member each of BJP and Congress (N Ramchander Rao and S Jeevan Reddy) and two Congress supported Teachers' MLCs and rest of the members belong to TRS.