Hyderabad: After much delay, there is a possibility of a new team of working presidents being named for Telangana Congress before or after Diwali next month so that the party prepares for elections to GHMC, Malkajgiri, Cyberabad, Warangal and Khammam municipal corporations.
A senior AICC leader told STOI that the TPCC president Mahesh Goud might be allowed to have his own team in the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) but is unlikely to be given a free hand. On his part, TPCC president Mahesh Goud said all formalities have been completed and short-listed names have been submitted to AICC. Likewise, some of the vice-presidents and general secretaries in the organisation, corporation chairpersons nominated posts in the govt are also likely to be filled soon,” he said.
Congress leader C Rohin Reddy, Waqf Board chairman Syed Azmatullah Husaini, AICC secretary SA Sampath Kumar and MP Balram Naik are among those in the race for four working president posts from the Reddy, minority, SC and ST communities. As BC leader B Mahesh Kumar Goud is the TPCC president and one MLC post from the three governor quota MLC seats to fall vacant in Nov. likely to be given to a BC candidate, candidates from castes other than BCs are being tipped to be the front-runners for the working president posts. Nevertheless, many BC candidates are making their own efforts and lobbying to get the working president post. AICC will soon consult chief minister A Revanth Reddy , deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka, irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy and Telangana AICC in charge Meenakshi Natarajan before finalising the working presidents. “We are expecting the party high command to finalise the new working presidents before or after the Diwali festival. The talk in Congress circles is that the AICC brass will finalise the names keeping in view the social justice formula, balance caste, district and other equations. A senior woman leader might also get the working president post, and MLA N Padmavathi Reddy, wife of irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, or a woman from the SC or BC community has the scope of being appointed as a working president.
Though AICC had appointed five working presidents earlier: B Mahesh Kumar Goud (BC), who is now TPCC president, Mohammed Azharuddin (minorities), J Geetha Reddy (SC), M Anjan Kumar Yadav (BC) and T Jagga Reddy (Reddy); this time the party high command is likely to trim it down to four working president posts only.