Top guns of TS Congress missing in action, infighting hits campaign

Hyderabad: Infighting among its top leaders over ticket allotments for the upcoming state Assembly polls is threatening to derail the Congress’ campaign, with the TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy the only senior leader undertaking works to spread the party’s message and canvass voters.

Senior leaders were conspicuous by their absence during Revanth Reddy’s launch of the statewide campaign on Tuesday, with many busy lobbying the high command in Delhi or taking part in meetings with the high command to finalise the list of candidates.

Further, the Congress is also yet to declare candidates for three seats in Nalgonda district — Suryapet, Thugathurthy and Miryalguda — due to infighting among top leaders, even as the November 10 deadline looms closer.

This is in stark contrast to the ruling BRS and BJP, which have started undertaking mass outreach programmes and holding public meetings. For the BRS, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, working president K.T. Rama Rao and minister T. Harish Rao have been touring the state, carrying out campaigns, roadshows and addressing meetings, while the BJP has held several public meetings addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and other national leaders.

The TPCC leadership, chiefly A. Revanth Reddy, CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, and MPs N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, is yet to find common ground to work for the party.

Komatireddy Venkat Reddy was appointed a star campaigner in April 2022, with his brief including campaigning for all party candidates. However, he has not been seen campaigning for any leader, including in his native constituency of Nalgonda, from where he won in 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014.

In a first, however, he held a rally while filing his nomination papers on Tuesday. After losing to the BRS in 2018, he is trying to regain his seat.

CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who held a marathon padayatra for 109 days, covering 1,360 kilometres in 17 districts and 36 constituencies between March and July this year, has remained confined to Madhira
constituency, from where he won in 2009, 2014 and 2018 polls. He only ventured out to other constituencies during visits by Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge for bus yatras.

MP N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and his wife N. Padmavathi, who are contesting from Huzurnagar and Kodad, respectively, did not even take part in the bus yatras held by the national leaders. They have confined their campaign to the two constituencies they are contesting from.

Currently, Revanth Reddy is covering three constituencies a day, taking helicopter trips. His first phase of campaigning, which started on Tuesday, will go on till November 11, after which he will launch the second phase, from November 13 to 28.

Revanth, Mallu Bhatti and Uttam are also part of committees to finalise candidates for the Assembly polls and have been frequenting Delhi to take part in the party's screening committee and central election committee
meetings.