Venkateshwarlu Kolishetty Hyderabad

Nearlythree years after the Congress came to power in Telangana, the appointment of TPCC working presidents remains pending. With no clarity on the appointments, several aspirants have reportedly shifted their focus to Governor’s quota MLC seats and nominated posts.

Two years have passed since B Mahesh Kumar Goud took charge as Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president, but no working presidents have been appointed. While the Congress high command is reportedly interested in filling the positions, the state leadership appears to be in no hurry. Party sources suggest that the appointments of Working Presidents may take place after the selection of nominated posts and Governor’s quota MLCs is completed.

The names of Ch Vamshi Chand Reddy, N Padmavathi Reddy, C Rohin Reddy, Naini Rajender Reddy, Fayeem Qureshi, SA Sampath Kumar, S Indira, Preetham Nagarigari, Porika Balaram Naik, Bellaiah Naik, Azmathullah Hussaini, S Obaidullah Kotwal and M Sunitha Rao had earlier figured among the likely contenders for TPCC working president posts. However, several Working Presidents aspirants are now reportedly pursuing MLC and nominated positions.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s announcement that one Governor’s quota MLC seat would be allocated to the Padmashali community has triggered competition among several leaders.

Eravatri Anil, Sangishetty Jagadishwar Rao, Punna Kailash Netha and Jakkani Anitha are among those reportedly seeking the position in Padmashali quota. Dr Pavithra Vani, daughter of freedom fighter Konda Laxman Bapuji, is also being considered.

The remaining two Governor’s quota MLC seats have attracted interest from leaders belonging to Backward Classes (BCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

Among the BC aspirants are Neelam Madhu, Nerella Sharada, M Sunitha Rao, Sathu Mallesham, Chanagani Dayakar, Lokesh Yadav, Charan Kaushik Yadav and Gouri Sathish. From the SC community, Preetham Nagarigari, SA Sampath Kumar, S Indira and Dommata Sambaiah are reportedly in the race, while Bellaiah Naik is among the ST aspirants. The final selection is expected to take into account social representation, political considerations and the contributions of the aspirants.

It may be recalled that following Mahesh Kumar Goud’s appointment as TPCC chief, some party leaders had argued that working presidents were unnecessary in a state where the Congress was in power. The leadership later indicated that appointments for Working Presidents would be made, raising expectations among aspirants. However, no appointments have materialised so far.

On the other hand, several months ago, speculation within the Telangana Congress suggested that differences between state leaders and AICC general secretary in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan had contributed to the delay in appointing Working Presidents. However, even after Natarajan reportedly left for London on September 18 to pursue higher education, there was no progress on the appointments of Working Presidents.

TPCC chief Mahesh Kumar Goud has repeatedly assured party leaders that working presidents would be appointed soon. Nevertheless, the continued delay has fuelled uncertainty among aspirants.

A Congress leader observed that several contenders had gradually shifted their attention from working president posts to Governor’s quota MLC seats and nominated positions, which are expected to be announced soon.

With the selection of MLCs and nominated posts taking centre stage, the future of the TPCC working president positions remains uncertain, leaving aspirants to explore alternative opportunities within the party and government.