Hyderabad: The Congress party is yet to initiate any steps after its candidate’s humiliating defeat in the Huzurabad by-election. AICC appointed senior party leader from Karnataka, Nanjayyanamath was to inquire into the causes for the debacle in the November 8 election. Named advisor, the former legislator was asked to submit a report to the party high command within a month.
Surprisingly, he did not come to Telangana for any stock-taking. The party secured a mere 1.47 per cent of votes in Huzurabad where party candidate Balmuri Venkat Narsing Rao lost his deposit. The party got 34 per cent votes in Huzurabad constituency in the 2018 Assembly elections. The cadre and leaders were shocked at the drubbing this time around.
Meanwhile, the party high command summoned TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy and CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, among others, to Delhi on November 13 to review the Huzurabad verdict. Allegedly, some leaders blamed each other for the poor showing before the party general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal. However, Revanth Reddy owned up the responsibility for the defeat.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, former MP Ponnam Prabhakar said that the high command should conduct an inquiry into both Huzurabad and Nagarjunasagar by-elections. The ground realities should be brought to the party leadership’s notice, he said. TRS and BJP parties jumped into the fray six months before the polling day while Congress made a belated entry. Initiating action would be ideal in the circumstances, he said.
TPCC working president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud said that the Nanjayyanamath-led committee on Huzurabad by-election was scrapped. Venugopal conducted a review meeting with select state leaders for their opinions, he said.
“We concluded that the Huzurabad byelection was done on the basis of persons and not on political parties', '' he explained.
