Senior Telangana Congress leaders urge Kharge to revise candidate list

Hyderabad, Oct 29 (IANS) Two senior Congress leaders in Telangana have urged AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge to revise and reconsider the first and second list of candidates for next month’s Assembly elections in the state.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Senior Vice-President G. Niranjan and AICC Kisan Congress Vice-Chairman M. Kodanda Reddy have written a letter to Kharge, bringing to his notice the dissatisfaction caused by the first and second list of candidates among senior leaders in the party.

“There is an opinion as the parachutes are given priority at the cost of committed and loyal leaders though they are competent to fight the elections in all respects,” reads the letter.

“In view of the feelings and dissatisfaction of the cadre we request your good self to review and reconsider the names of the candidates announced in first and second lists to repose the confidence among the people and to set right the prevailing atmosphere in the party,” they wrote.

The two leaders suggested reconsidering candidates in nine constituencies in and around Hyderabad. The constituencies are Chandrayangutta, Bahadurpura, Malakpet, Yakutpura, Sanath Nagar, Jubilee Hills, Kukatpally, Rajendra Nagar and Serilingampally.

The Congress party has so far announced candidates for 100 out of 119 Assembly seats. The second list of 45 candidates was announced on October 27. The first list of 55 candidates was announced on October 15.

Both the lists triggered resignations by some leaders, who were denied tickets.

The Congress has fielded as many as 28 leaders who had recently defected to the party from Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A few of them were given tickets a couple of days after they switched loyalties.

Niranjan had openly criticised the party over this. “If one can join the party in the morning and get a ticket in the evening to contest the elections , why should an activist carry the party flag and work for it for five years? The party loses its moral right to ask the workers to work for the party,” he posted on ‘X’