Set aside egos and work for party, Manikrao tells PCC leaders

Hyderabad: Sparks flew in the PCC political affairs committee (PAC) meeting at Gandhi Bhavan in the presence of Manikrao Thakre, the new AICC in-charge for the state, here on Wednesday. ‘Haath se Haath Jodo’ was elaborately debated by party men in the meeting, which continued late into the night.

Some like V Hanumantha Rao raised objections to the PCC chief Revanth
Reddy’s planned six-month ‘padayatra’. Even though not officially announced,
the issue has created resentment within the party. Rao argued that AICC’s
jodo abhiyan should be given complete attention. Amongst other issues
discussed during the meeting included the Munugode by-election debacle.

Meanwhile, the morale of the party cadre redoubled with the arrival of the
new in-charge, who gave a patient hearing to the leaders.

It was during their one-on-one meeting that senior leaders shared their
grievances. However they remained tight-lipped about the discussions. Some
of them expressed satisfaction about the way Manikrao listened to their
opinions and suggestions. “Whatever I wanted to express I did. He did his
bit,” said Ponnala Lakshmaiah later.

Amongst those who skipped meeting Thakre were Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, who reportedly spoke to him on phone, T. Jagga Reddy who was in Tirupati, while Seethakka and P. Veeraiah remained in their constituencies.

Manikrao urged leaders to set aside ‘ego problems’ and work for the next
elections. He also questioned them about the party’s winning chances in case
elections are held immediately.