Hyderabad: The avowed intention of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to reduce the Congress party to a nonentity in the state is being made that much easier by the infighting among senior Congress leaders.
The selection of a Congress candidate for the Huzurnagar assembly seat in the forthcoming byelection has created a split in the Telangana Congress. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy wants his wife and former MLA Padmavathi to contest the seat, while TPCC working president and MP, A Revanth Reddy, announced that he is proposing PCC spokesperson Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy as the candidate.
Mr Revanth Reddy has demanded that the Congress high command issue a show-cause notice to Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy for unilaterally announcing his wife as the Huzurnagar Assembly candidate.
This infighting in the Congress is not so much for the by-election as for the post of TPCC president. Recently, Mr Revanth Reddy had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi along with his family members. This led to speculation that Mr Revanth Reddy will be appointed PCC chief soon.
However, AICC secretary, V. Hanumantha Rao and others met the high command representatives and said they would object if Mr Revanth Reddy was made the TPCC president. It was for this reason that Mr Revanth Reddy has raised a controversy over the Huzurnagar bypoll.
It is a fight between three Congress MPs — Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy, Mr Komatireddy Venkata Reddy and Mr Revanth Reddy. And it comes at a time when the Congress could have cashed in on the dissidence within the TRS, with some of their leaders being unhappy at not being included in the cabinet expansion.
Instead, the Congress has chosen to air its own internal dissidence.
Senior Congress leaders are supporting Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy and opposing Mr Revanth Reddy on the Huzurnagar candidate issue. Mr Komatireddy Venkata Reddy said that there is no need for outsiders to be involved in their district. Just to complicate matters further, Komatireddy’s brother and MLA, Rajagopal Reddy, is opposing his brother on this issue!
Meanwhile, AICC secretary V Hanumantha Rao said that Mr Revanth Reddy is very “junior” and it is better to “control his speed”. He also said that Mr Revanth Reddy’s style will work in regional parties but not in national parties.
While the TRS wants to make the Congress ineffective in the state, the BJP is trying to occupy the position of the main opposition party. Instead of strengthening the party to take on this twin attack, Congressmen are only weakening it by all the infighting, making the task of both the TRS and the BJP that much easier.
