With elections just about a year away, the Congress party’s central leadership appears to have got into social engineering mode, giving backward classes, SC/ST and minorities prime place in the recasting of the much delayed Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) executive.
At the end of an almost four-hour-long deliberations Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana had with AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad and secretary K.B. Krishnamurthy on Thursday night, the PCC list has almost been made ready.
It is a matter of time before party president Sonia Gandhi puts her stamp of approval on it and the Congress Working Committee member and in-charge of organisational affairs Oscar Fernandes announces it officially.
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According to party sources, the high command took a hard look at the prevailing political situation where leaders and cadres of various parties are polarised on caste lines. Unlike in the past, when leaders belonging to Reddy community held sway, the party, this time, reportedly preferred BC leaders from various sub-castes to send a message that it was now changing its outlook.
It is learnt that the new PCC executive would have 11 vice-presidents and 15 general secretaries, besides a treasurer. Telangana region seems to have got its due with as many as eight being inducted as general secretaries and five as vice-presidents. Rayalaseema may see one leader each being taken in as general secretary and vice-president respectively.
Reliable sources privy to the consultations maintained that there was some objection to inclusion of a former Minister from Telangana as the general secretary. Similarly, names of husband and wife of two Union Ministers were deleted at the last minute.
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Not many supporters of the Union Minister K. Chiranjeevi are likely to find a place in the list. Leaders point out that the name of his brother K. Naga Babu was not approved while MLA Vanga Geetha was lucky to be considered for the post of vice-president.
The claims of Lok Sabha members to be part of the PCC were ignored while Rajya Sabha members like Nandi Yellaiah and T. Subbarami Reddy are likely to get plum posts. Among the minorities, former Ministers -- Md. Ali Shabbir and Md. Fareeduddin and MLC K.R. Amos -- are reportedly tipped to get important party posts.
Some other names reportedly approved for PCC posts of vice-president/general secretaries are: Madasu Gangadharam, T. Nagaiah, Pulusu Janardhan Rao, Majji Sarada and B. Chengalrayudu.