Ponnala, Raghuveera, Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs of 2 states

Hyderabad:

In a move to woo backward communities including Kapus who are predominant in the undivided AP State, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday nominated prominent Backward Class leaders N. Raghuveera Reddy and Ponnala Laxmaiah as Pradesh Congress Committees chiefs for Seemandhra and Telangana states respectively.

At the same time, the Congress president also nominated a few other leaders from different sections of society like SCs and Minorities as heads of various party committees in both the States.

In a balancing act to adjust and accommodate other prominent leaders from the party, she has created new posts like campaign committee and manifesto preparation committee for both the states as well as the new post of working president in the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee.

While political adversaries of the Congress in both the states, the Telugu Desam, Telangana Rashtra Samiti, BJP and the YSR Congress are headed by upper caste leaders, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has for the first time appointed Backward community leaders to head various committees in line with her promise of providing social justice.

Adjacent to the existing Gandhi Bhavan, the AICC headquarters, a separate building was recently constructed to accommodate both the PCCs.

Both Ponnala Laxmaiah and Raghuveera Reddy Yadav are four-time legislators and both have more than 30 years’ experience in the party and have been ministers in various cabinets.

Speaking to the media in Delhi on Tuesday, AICC general secretary, Digvijay Singh said that he will be in Hyderabad for three days starting March 13 to participate in various party committee meetings, including the election committees set up by the party for both the states.

Replying to a question on Union Minister Jairam Ramesh promising that Terlangana would have a Dalit Chief Minister, Mr Singh said, “The party has not yet taken any decision in this regard. It is his personal opinion.”