The list of Congress candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Telangana may not be finalised by the party before October 23, when the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the AICC will meet to take a look at the recommendations of the screening committee. By then, the proposed bus yatra of the Telangana Congress leaders would be over.
However, the date of the CEC meeting could be advanced depending on the poll dates if the Election Commission announces the schedule. But going by the mood in the senior leadership, the CEC meeting will be held on October 23, a senior leader said.
Sources said that the screening committee meeting held in New Delhi on Sunday could not arrive at a consensus in about 40 constituencies, where the demand for tickets is huge with multiple aspirants. The meeting decided to meet yet again, given the complexities involved in the selections. It is likely to meet on October 22.
Pressure from groups
The meeting held under the chairmanship of MP from Kerala Muraleedharan and attended by AICC in-charge Manikrao Thakre, TPCC president Revanth Reddy, CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka and Congress MP from Nalgonda N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, among others, discussed the pressure being put up by various groups for party tickets.
It is learnt that some of the leaders suggested that the list announcement be delayed till the bus yatra in Telangana is completed or else they would face issues with those denied tickets.
Mr. Thakre later said that another meeting of the screening committee would be held, and they would be ready with the list once the CEC decides to meet.
Sunday’s meeting tentatively decided on the number of seats to be given to various social groups but the final list will be completed before the CEC meeting. He said the promises made to Backward Classes’ leaders would be fulfilled. Representations also came from various groups and they were all discussed at the meeting, it is learnt.
