HYDERABAD:
A sense of disbelief gripped senior Congress leaders holding coveted posts in the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), who failed to get the nod in the first list of candidates announced by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Sunday.
Leading the pack is TPCC Campaign Committee chairman and former MP Madhu Yaskhi Goud, who is aspiring for the L.B. Nagar seat. Based on the seniority and clout in the central leadership it was expected that he would find his name in the first list.
Former CLP leader and ex-Minister Md Ali Shabbir, who is tipped to take on Chief Minister and BRS supremo K. Chandrashekhar Rao from Kamareddy failed to see his name in Sunday’s list.
Same is the case for TPCC working Presidents – Ponnam Prabhakar (Husnabad) and B. Mahesh Kumar Goud (Nizamabad Urban). Ponnam, who spearheaded the separate statehood movement as Karimnagar MP taking on board all the Lok Sabha member from the Congress in Telangana is waiting with bated breadth if he is able to get the ticket. Mr. Mahesh Kumar Goud too is not sure why his name has not been cleared in the first lot.
AICC Secretary G. Chinna Reddy’s name too is missing from the list and so is the fate of former Union Minister Porike Balaram Naik. Another former MP Suresh Shetkar’s name is said to have been among the leaders, who were supposed to get the clearance at the first go from Narayankhed constituency. Senior Congress leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy has lost out from Nagarkurnool constituency to a rank novice Dr. Rajesh Reddy.
The Steering Committee had cleared their names and forwarded the same to the Central Election Commission, which is said to have put its stamp of approval. However, the leaders were perplexed not to see their names in the first list. The second list is expected to be out in the coming two or three days.
