Congress's rap for 30 MLAs: Beat anti-incumbency

Bengaluru: Expressing serious displeasure over 25 to 30 MLAs not "working enough" to beat anti-incumbency, AICC general secretary, K.C. Venugopal reportedly suggested that these MLAs and the party’s frontal organisations need to put up a united fight to beat anti-incumbency.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a senior leader said Mr Venugopal wanted these MLAs to be instructed individually by party leaders to take up various programmes in a brisk manner to bring down anti-incumbency by at  least five points in the next two months. "On a scale of one to ten, some of the MLAs are not even reaching two or three, we need to improve their rating at least by three to four points in the next two months," the source explained.

Mr Venugopal is also sore over the manner in which frontal organisations of the party are functioning and the fact that some of the MLAs have not taken the Mane-Manege Congress programme seriously. He felt it was time senior leaders  groomed alternative leaders as there is a  likelihood of some of them defecting to other parties ahead of the 2018 Assembly polls. 

The source added that Mr Venugopal expressed displeasure over the fact that a section of ministers are not functioning in the respective districts assigned to  them. "Party workers usually complain about ministers giving a patient hearing only to their followers and not party workers. This is a common complaint I am hearing since I have taken charge of this state," he reportedly remarked, adding that the party was keeping a close watch on leaders who maintain close ties with rival parties.