Did a telephone call from AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi to an old mobile number of former Minister K. Jana Reddy ruin his chances of becoming the president of Telangana Congress Committee?
It appears so going by the fact that Mr. Jana Reddy did not attend a meeting convened by Mr. Gandhi with all the senior leaders of Telangana and Seemandhra region a day before the two PCCs were constituted.
According to highly placed sources, Mr. Gandhi’s aides made a telephone call to an old number earlier used by Mr. Jana Reddy to inform him about the meeting. As the number did not work, the message could not be conveyed. By the time Mr. Reddy realised that an attempt was made by Mr. Gandhi’s office to contact him for the meeting, the damage had been done. The next day when the PCC chiefs’ names were announced, it came as a shock to the former Minister.
The senior-most Minister in the State after former Chief Minister Kasu Brahmananda Reddy did not mince words in lodging his strong protest at the appointments and protested the high command’s attitude in ignoring seniors. He was then asked by AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh to come and meet Mr. Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Sonia Gandhi.
Mr. Reddy is said to have been satisfied after his interaction with the two senior leaders. A senior leader told The Hindu that if Mr. Reddy had indeed met the party president and vice-president, the situation would have been different. Sources said the party made attempts to mollify other senior leaders too, who had their eyes set on the top post. Botcha Satyanarayana, Kanna Lakshminarayana, S. Jaipal Reddy, D. Srinivas, K. Jana Reddy and a few others, who were aspiring to lead residuary Andhra Pradesh and Telangana PCCs were left sulking by the high command’s decision to elevate N. Raghuveera Reddy and Ponnala Lakshmaiah.
