The Gondwana Congress Party (GCP), which has a presence in central Indian States of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and others, would put up candidates in the ensuing elections to Telangana Assembly at a few constituencies. The party has so far been approached by aspirants seeking ticket from Asifabad (ST), Sirpur and Khanapur (ST) constituencies in the erstwhile Adilabad district, according to its national president Birshah Krishnashah Atram.
Mr. Atram is the scion of former Gond kingdom of Chandrapur in Maharashtra and has been elected the national president of GCP in Madhya Pradesh on October 13. His immediate task, he said, was to expand the party in the States where elections would be conducted in the coming months, which includes Telangana.
The GCP was formed in 2009 in Madhya Pradesh and has two MLAs in the Assembly of that State. It has no connection whatsoever with the Indian National Congress. Party general secretary Hirdaya Singh, who is also the State president of Telangana, is vetting the applications at present. “We will supply application forms in all the constituencies in the State for the convenience of people,” Mr. Atram said.
The GCP may not make any difference as to the outcome of the elections, but there would be some impact as it is headed by the scion of Chandrapur Gond kings. They had ruled the tribal belt adjoining the kingdom that lies between Penganga river in the north and Godavari in the south. “We are looking to field candidates regardless of their religion, cast or community, but who are fresh faces, do not have a criminal background and have a record of social work,” the GCP national president told The Hindu on Sunday. “A meeting of our well wishers and others will be held shorty at Utnoor to chalk out a future course of action,” he said of the plan in the coming days.
