Hyderabad: Many aspirants commonly spotted in Delhi Congress offices seeking tickets will not be there this time as a majority of the party’s leaders in Seemandhra region have quit to protest against the division of the state.
Instead, the rush for party tickets is still on for Telangana region, a reversal of roles for the first time in the 60-year history of Andhra Praqdesh.
The Congress election screening committee headed by Union minister Vayalar Ravi will begin work from March 25 to scrutinise the list of candidates that has already been filtered by the Pradesh Election Committee.
Once the screening committee makes its recommendations, AICC president Sonia Gandhi will finalise the names after discussions with the general secretary in-charge of the state and the core panel. This exercise is expected to take a week. Nominations for the Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana will commence from April 2.
Every five years, ticket-seekers camp in Delhi for at least two weeks, making rounds of residences of Party Working Committee members and Scre-ening Committee members, their bio-datas in hand. Mandatory visits are made to the PCC chief and other influential party leaders camping in Delhi. Many such visits are made, taking up time and money. A majority of aspirants used to be from Seemandhra region, which had more seats and more influence. This time it will be the other way round.
“We expect aspirants from Telangana. Not a single person from Seemandhra will be interested to visit Delhi to seek a party ticket. The selection of candidates from Seemandhra may be concluded in just one day,” said an APCC leader.
“AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh is presently on a foreign trip and is expected to return only after March 23. The screening committee may have sittings from March 25 and we may finish the whole exercise by month end," hopes TPCC president Mr Ponnala Laxmaiah.
Meanwhile, talking to newsmen at Gandhi Bhavan, the TPCC president said Ms Sonia Gandhi will participate in a public meeting in Hyderabad organised by Telangana Congress leaders primarily to thank her for granting Telangana state.
"This meeting which will be attended by lakhs of people will give the required boost to Telangana Congress just before the commencement of nominations. The date will be finalised soon, but it will be end of March," Mr Lakshmaiah said.
After the Hyderabad public meeting, Ms Gandhi and Congress vice-president Mr Rahul Gandhi will have four more election meetings in Telangana, he said.
