The APCC choice of candidates for three of the city seats, who are all new to the party, has caused a lot of heartburn among the leaders and workers and they vent their spleen at a meeting conducted by City Congress Committee president Behera Bhaskara Rao on Monday. Understanding the feeling and anguish of the party leaders and workers and also upset over Gajuwaka MLA Ch. Venkatramaiah not informing him of his re-entry into the party, Mr. Bhaskara Rao wanted to quit the post of city president and leaders of party’s affiliated units also supported him.
On Sunday, APCC announced party tickets to D. Prabha Goud (Visakha East), Pedada Ramani Kumari (Visakha West) and Gunturi Bharathi Venkateswari (Visakha North) for the Assembly elections. The high command ignored the claims of many seniors and those with the party for a long time. Ms. Prabha Goud was with the YSR Congress till a few weeks ago; Pedada Ramani Kumari was a follower of former Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao and she followed him from the Telugu Desam to the Praja Rajyam and from it to the Congress and remained in the Congress though Mr. Srinivasa Rao went back to the Telugu Desam; and Gunturi Venkata Bharathi is wife of Congress leader Gunturi Narasimha Murthy, who was with the Praja Rajyam before coming back to the Congress and a very few know her. Their choice had really hurt the second rung leaders who stuck to the party in spite of it going through difficult times, and aspired to be candidates as many seniors and sitting MLAs have left.
Botcha, TSR blamedCongress Seva Dal chairman Gampa Govind blamed former APCC president Botcha Satyanarayana and Rajya Sabha member T. Subbarami Reddy for brining in outsiders and charged them with helping the YSR Congress by messing up Congress chances in the elections. All the long-time loyalists were deceived, he said. Chairman of SC cell K. Vengala Rao, Seva Dal State leader Parveen Khan and others strongly opposed the decision to give party tickets to outsiders.
