Congress faces early poll drive hiccups

Hyderabad: While Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrashekar Rao is all set to launch his poll campaign Statewide with 50 days tour, the campaign leaders of the Congress are yet to get their act together.

Those named as Campaign and Publicity Committee chairmen are busy with their district politics, ignoring the responsibility of Statewide campaign entrusted to them. Even the star campaigner has to chalk out the programme.

The Congress has recently appointed Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy as chairmen of Campaign and Publicity Committees respectively. It has appointed veteran actor Vijayashanti as star campaigner.

Apart from them, several other prominent leaders of the Congress like Revanth Reddy, DK Aruna, Ponnala Laxmaiah, Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, K Jana Reddy, Mohammad Shabbir Ali and others have been confining themselves to the districts.

The Pradesh Congress Committee president Uttam Kumar Reddy is too busy in talks with alliance partners and coordinating the committees. This has left the Congress with no one to go out into the district to launch a campaign.

Sources in the party said that that Campaign Committee of the Congress has been playing a key role in the publicity part of the party. YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who headed the committee in 2004 and 2009, had brought the party to power both times.

In 2014, Damodara Rajanarasimha has been appointed as the chairman of the Campaign Committee. However, the party failed to secure power. For the 2019 elections, the party has named Bhatti Vikramarka as chairman.

It has been a tradition in the party to elect the chairman of the Campaign Committee as Chief Minister if the party is voted to power. Chairman post of the committee is considered the top most post during the elections and the last step to become Chief Minister if the party wins.

Leaders of the party said that usually most popular leader of the party would be given the responsibility, indicating that he would be the next Chief Minister so that people could rally behind him. Several leaders of the party including Revanth Reddy, Madhu Yashki, V Hanumantha Rao, Komatireddy brothers, DK Aruna and few others have strongly demanded the post to them and made intense lobbying. However, the post finally landed in the lap of Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.

Meanwhile, the announcement of committees has led to serious trouble in the party and MLC Komatireddy Rajagopala Reddy has raised a banner of revolt against the PCC. Hanumantha Rao too has made serious allegations.

Several other leaders have also lodged complaints with the AICC and said that a leader of backward classes should have made as chairman of the campaign committee.

A senior leader observed that as the Chief Minister has made several promises to BCs, the Congress should have given the Campaign Committee chairman post or equivalent to it to a BC leader. He said that social justice was not maintained in the appointments to the committees.

A senior leader of the party questioned that if the chairmen of the poll committees confine themselves to their districts and constituencies, who would lead the publicity activity of the party.