The election to the Youth Congress State Committee in the seven Assembly Segments of the Vijayawada Parliamentary Constituencies to be held on July 11 and 12 is hotting-up with the party big-wigs making last minute moves.
Youth Congress has till recently been a vestige to the main Congress with the party high command nominating the office-bearers. There has been a sea change in the scenario after Rahul Gandhi took over. He has been emphasising genuine members and free and fair elections. He laid down norms to bring about transparency in the election procedure.
Leaders and party works, alike, recruited members for the youth wing. Elections have already been conducted to the booth and mandal committees and next in line are the Parliamentary Constituencies. Those who get elected from the Parliamentary Constituencies will elect the State President.
But, some of the activists who worked to enrol genuine members to the Youth Congress are now crestfallen because the big-wigs in the party have now moved in and reportedly trying to sideline them.
“Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal is issuing ‘fatwa’ after fatwa on to whom the Youth Congress members should or should not, vote for. Some of his close followers are going around the seven Assembly segments to campaign for their candidate Vamsichand Reddy from Telangana, Mahaboobnagar, for State Youth Congress president. Mr. Reddy’s rival in the race seems to be Anil Kumar Yadav the son of Secunderabad MP, Anjan Kumar Yadav. The grandson of former Chief Minister Marri Channa Reddy, Puruvar Reddy, seems to be ‘also’ running for the state president’s post.
Former Minister Devineni Rajasekhar’s son Avinash, is in the race for the Vijayawada Parliamentary Youth Congress president post and expects to get elected with out any opposition.
The followers of Mr. Rajagopal have been reportedly treading on the toes of Sheik Khaja who supposedly worked very hard to enrol members in the Parliamentary Constituency.
Mr. Khaja says he had the support of Minister Kolusu Parthasarathi to begin with, but that seems to have changed with the entry of Mr. Rajagopal. The recent developments in the Parliamentary Constituency were totally against the spirit of what Mr. Gandhi was talking about, the MP’s detractors say. This was unique to the Vijayawada Parliamentary Constituency because no other MP was interfering in this matter, they add. (eoM)
