The Congress party’s screening committee for Telangana recently had an important meeting at AICC general secretary K C Venugopal’s residence in Delhi. The committee, led by K Muralidharan, discussed the finalization of seats for Left parties and how to minimize dissent. PCC chief A Revanth Reddy, MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy, and CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka were among the top leaders present at the meeting.
During the meeting, they discussed the allocation of 64 remaining seats, with two each going to CPI and CPM. These parties are likely to get seats in Miryalguda, Vyra, Kothagudem, and another constituency where their party members are strong. The Congress leadership is being cautious due to the dissenting voices that arose after the announcement of the first list. The State leadership has received over 1,000 applications from aspiring candidates and is facing protests from those who did not receive tickets.
As a response to protests from Gadwal and Bahadurpura aspirants, the party’s DAC has issued suspension notices. PCC secretary K Vijay Kumar and Baba Kaleemuddin from Bahadurpura have made allegations against Revanth Reddy. The nominees from the first list are working hard to convince dissenting leaders in their constituencies, but this is exhausting their energies and may affect their chances in the upcoming elections.
The second list of candidates is expected to be released in a couple of days after approval from the party’s CEC. The party may also reflect on the Udaipur declaration in this list, considering Rahul Gandhi’s recent statements on caste census and OBC allocations. The Congress leadership is facing a tough decision between choosing BCs or newly-joined leaders, mainly from the Reddy community, for important constituencies as the BJP has announced it will give maximum tickets to BCs in the state.
