Hyderabad: The Congress high command has begun consultations with senior party leaders from Telangana state to appoint a new TPCC chief. Though general elections, scheduled for 2019, are three years away, AICC president Sonia Gandhi is keeping her options over replacing the TPCC chief open.
The Congress high command is quite upset over the TS leaders’ failure to cash in on the party granting statehood to Telangana, the 2014 electoral debacle followed by a string of defeats in subsequent byelections to the Assembly, and Lok Sabha, and elections to the GHMC and other municipal corporations and municipalities in the state, lack of coordination between the senior leaders, open criticism of each other, business deals with TRS leaders, close association of some party leaders with TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao etc.
A section of the party leaders are unhappy with the incumbent TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and seeking his replacement, it is reliably learnt. The Congress high command has begun the process of consultations with state Congress leaders.
Even as consultations are on, names of several senior party leaders, including some surprises like cricketer-turned-politician Mohd. Azharuddin are doing the rounds for the next TPCC chief post. Name of actor Vijayashanti, who was earlier with the TRS, too is doing the rounds. However, a senior party leader here brushed aside this rumour: “No chance. Vijayashanti has never been active in party. There is no question of this happening.”
Sources in the Congress said that Mrs Gandhi has interacted with Mr Khan, Nandi Yellaiah, Mr Hanumantha Rao, Palvai Govardhan Reddy and others and reviewed the party position.
“Sonia ji has begun consultations with senior leaders from the state. I think the party is looking for a new TPCC chief with a clean image who can take all sections along with him or her. The replacement of party chief may be done immediately or at a later stage. But change looks imminent,” a senior Congress leader told DC over phone from New Delhi.
