It is the season to float trial balloons in Telangana. Even though there are no Lok Sabha or Assembly elections in sight in the state, Gandhi Bhavan, the headquarters of the party in Hyderabad is abuzz with who will be the next PCC chief.
In typical Congress style, the most unlikely names were mentioned as the frontrunners. India cricket captain-turned-politician Mohammed Azharuddin and actor-turned-BJP neta- turned TRS neta-turned Congress neta Vijayashanti. Both names raised eyebrows because Azhar, despite being a product of Hyderabad cricket, chose to contest the elections from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. Vijayashanti has been a notorious party hopper and has no connect with the party cadre.
Those floating these names say Azhar will get in the Muslim vote and Vijayashanti will tap into the Telangana sentiment. Such thinking only exposes a complete lack of understanding of the psyche of the voter and ridiculing his ability to cast his or her vote judiciously.
It so transpires that a senior Muslim leader aspired to become the AICC General Secretary. It was conveyed to him that it is not possible, at which point he asked for the PCC chief post. When that too was turned down, he floated Azhar’s name.
Vijayashanti’s name was met with opposition the moment a senior Delhi functionary floated her name, arguing she will bring in the glamour element. “What glamour? If that was the case, why didn’t Chiranjeevi sweep the polls,” went the counter-argument. Her balloon was pricked almost immediately, with leaders calling her inactive in the party.
What most Congress leaders concede is that the party high command is not happy with the Nalgonda district leadership of the PCC and the CLP. IAF Pilot-turned-politician Uttam Kumar Reddy has not been able to ensure a take-off for the party in Telangana. Jana Reddy’s performance as CLP leader has been uninspiring, with seven of the 21 MLAs crossing over to the TRS in recent months. Uttam Kumar Reddy is accused of being inaccessible and non-communicative.
Delhi is weighing different options. One to maintain status quo with Uttam Kumar Reddy since the party’s backbone is the Reddy community. The other is to give a Dalit leader – Bhatti Vikramarka or Damodar Rajanarasimha – the top job. Another possible change being considered is replacing Jana Reddy with a more aggressive DK Aruna. But another school of thought insists one of the three posts – PCC president, working president and CLP leader – should go to a Reddy. The BCs are also clamoring for representation at the top.
But with Digvijay Singh likely to be replaced soon as the general secretary in charge of Telangana, a decision may well be taken only when the next person comes in. Former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy has reportedly expressed his reluctance to take on the job. The names of two leaders – one from Maharashtra and one from Uttar Pradesh – are doing the rounds as possible general secretary incharge.
