The announcement of the Congress’s candidates’ list is bound to get delayed and may take another 20 days at least though the screening committee for the Telangana Congress held wide-ranging discussions with the pradesh election committee (PEC) members on Monday.
The screening committee headed by Kerala MP, K. Muraleedharan will be here on Tuesday and Wednesday for consultations with all the stakeholders, and later submit its report to the All India Congress Committee (AICC), which will take a final decision.
But with the announcement of fresh dates for the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to be held on September 16 and 17 and the arrangements to be made for the mega show, it is highly unlikely that the focus would be on discussing the candidates list sent from the States. The AICC leadership will be busy with the key issues concerning the nation to be discussed at the CWC and the party’s political stand.
The CWC meeting will be followed by the special session of Parliament from September 18 to 22, which has assumed significance in view of rumours of the Bill for simultaneous elections likely to be introduced. The issue will attract the nation’s attention and the party would be busy with its own strategy for the sessions.
A senior leader wishing anonymity said that any discussion on the final list of the candidates would only be taken after Parliament sessions. The party would not be in a hurry and it will wait for the outcome of the Parliament sessions if at all there was a consensus on simultaneous elections there is no guarantee that Telangana elections will be held as per schedule.
“So the chances of announcing the list of candidates is likely to go into the month of October and not any soon,” the senior leader said. However, the entire process will keep the aspirants and the cadre in high spirits and there won’t be any lethargy with regard to party programmes.
Panel meets PEC members
The committee had a one-on-one meeting with the PEC members. Of the 26 members of the PEC, five did not meet the committee n Monday and they include TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy, former Ministers J. Geetha Reddy, K. Jana Reddy; CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka and MLA D. Sridhar Babu.
Bhongir MP, Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, who is in Singapore, is likely to come back on Tuesday and meet the committee, and those who skipped today for various reasons will are also likely to present their views in front of the Committee.
Senior leaders N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, MP; and MLAs T. Jeevan Reddy, T. Jagga Reddy, Podem Veeraiah and Seethakka met the chairman, Muraleedharan, apart from former PCC presidents, Ponnala Lakshmaiah and V. Hanmanth Rao. The committee is said to have sought their opinion on the candidates they were supporting and also the political situation in the State and the party position if it went ahead with possible tie-up with other parties.
Mr. Jagga Reddy submitted a letter to the committee seeking representation to the Women’s Congress, Youth Congress and the NSUI aspirants. Mr. Hanumanth Rao said that he had sought more tickets to the Backward Classes and that too in the constituencies where Congress was sure of winning. It is said that Mr. Ponnala Lakshmaiah wanted the Jangaon ticket to be given to him giving importance to his seniority.
