Shivakumar to reach Telangana to prevent poaching of Cong MLAs

The Congress in Telangana has asked its candidates who contested in the assembly elections and the agents to stay at the counting centres throughout the day to oversee the process on Sunday.

The elections for the 119-member assembly were held on November 30 and the counting will take place on December 3.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a virtual meeting with senior party leaders on Saturday and asked them to be vigilant, party sources said in Hyderabad.

The sources also said Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar is expected to reach Hyderabad on Saturday. His visit is understood to help the state party leaders and to prevent any poaching of MLAs.

Earlier in the day in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said that some people were trying to get in touch with the winning candidates in Telangana. However, the Congress will manage it locally, he added.

Expressing confidence that Congress would win the Telangana assembly elections with a comfortable majority, party leaders said exit polls also predicted an edge for the grand old party in the state.