With bickering within the Telangana Congress becoming a routine affair, the party’s General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has stepped in and has asked senior leaders to work unitedly and inclusively. The diktat came at a meeting held in Delhi on Monday to discuss the party’s strategy for the upcoming Munugode bye-election which has been brought about by the defection of the sitting Congress MLA to the BJP.
The meeting, which was helmed by Vadra as well as KC Venugopal, and Telangana in charge Manickam Tagore, featured seven of the state’s top leaders some of who do not always see eye-to-eye on issues: TPCC Chief Revanth Reddy, MP Uttam Kumar Reddy, senior leader Damodar Narasimha, MLA D Sridhar Babu, Campaign Committee Chairman Madhu Yashki Goud, MLC T Jeevan Reddy, and CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka attended the meeting. All Telangana Congress MPs were invited for the meeting, however, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy chose to skip the meeting leading to speculation that he might emerge as a dissenting voice in the party.
“Komatireddy Venkatreddy is in a fix because he doesn’t want to campaign against his brother who is in the BJP. That is why he is finding excuses to skip the Munugode-related meetings and campaigns. He wrote a strongly-worded letter to AICC interim president Sonia Gandhi informing his decision to stay away from the Munugode bye-election,” revealed a senior Congress leader who attended the meeting. Komatireddy Venkatreddy’s brother Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy recently left the Congress to join the BJP. Indeed, the byelection was necessitated by his resignation from the post of Munugode MLA.
In the meeting, all leaders were given time to express their concerns following which Priyanka Gandhi assured to give more time to Telangana. A senior source in the party told TNM that the Congress party is trying to keep the bickering Reddys together. “It is important for the Congress party to convince the Reddy community that their leaders in the party are united,” the source said. The Reddys are the most powerful community in the state with massive reserves of land, money and other resources. “The party has to ensure their support and for this Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Revanth Reddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy should unite. There is also some dissatisfaction that there is bias within the party towards certain leaders. This meeting was a way for the high command to convey that they are overseeing the state closely.”
According to another source in the All India Congress Committee (AICC), an important meeting is scheduled on Wednesday with Congress leaders from Nalgonda to finalise the eligible candidates for the Munugode bye-election. The names finalised in this meeting will be sent to the high command for clearance. It is expected the Congress will announce its candidate within a week. The party has been instructed to take the senior leaders into confidence, especially those hailing from the Nalgonda district. Revanth Reddy has been directed to consult Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, K Jana Reddy, N Uttam Kumar Reddy and R Damodar Reddy who hail from the region.