Congress is likely to field former IAS officer Koppula Raju for the Rajya Sabha seat from the state in the ensuing biennial polls, and will renominate M.A. Khan. Raju has been involved in the welfare initiatives of successive governments before quitting to take up an important post in the All India Congress Committee.

He heads its Scheduled Caste cell at the behest of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and has prepared a vision document to regain this once strong vote-bank for the party. Sources said Raju’s proximity to many dalit MLAs cutting across party lines has also been taken into consideration as elections will be held in a tense political atmosphere.