Hyderabad: As the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Telangana Manikrao Thakre is scheduled to visit in the first week of February, the Telangana Congress leaders, who were displeased to be left out of the last jumbo political executive committees. announced last year, have started intense lobbying for the further expansion of these committees.
Thakre is most likely to approve the names of the PCC secretaries and DCC presidents for at least nine districts, including Secunderabad, Sangareddy, Ranga Reddy, Jangaon, Suryapet, Bhupalpally, and Khammam.
Aspirants are vying with one another and intensifying their efforts to secure these posts by making numerous trips to Gandhi Bhavan, the party headquarters.
Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy is reportedly lobbying in New Delhi with the Congress high command to ensure that his close aides secure these posts.
After the party suffered a crushing defeat in the Munugode byelection last year, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in December last year appointed 84 general secretaries to the TPCC along with the presidents of 26 District Congress Committees and 24 vice-presidents to constitute the political executive committees.
However, internal squabbling within the Telangana Congress came to the fore when 13 PCC members, including Mulugu MLA Seethakka and former legislator Vem Narendar Reddy, resigned from their posts in protest over remarks made by senior party leaders that some leaders who "migrated" to the Congress from other parties got prominence.
"The AICC has appointed secretaries and DCC presidents to certain districts in the jumbo committee constituted last year. Thakre is likely to appoint secretaries, general secretaries and vice-presidents in further expansion of the political executive committees. The number of PCC secretaries could swell to 100," informed a senior Congress leader.
Some of the party's leaders wondered if further expansion of the political committees would in any way help the party in accomplishing its objectives. "During the recent extended executive meeting, only 50 per cent of the committee members attended. Further, only half of the committee members showed up for the training session on January 4 at the Gandhian Ideology Centre. When this is the enthusiasm shown by the party functionaries, one can imagine if the party’s goals can be achieved,” a former youth Congress leader observed.
