Telangana Assembly Polls 2023 | Cong forms panel to pacify disgruntled aspirants

Congress formed a four-member consultation committee to understand the ground reality in the constituencies and pacify them. Leaders maintain that trouble is brewing in at least 40 Assembly constituencies, where the party chances are bright.

HYDERABAD

The first list of Congress party is yet to be announced but the central leadership anticipating trouble from the aspirants, who fail to get the tickets, has roped in a four-member consultation committee to understand the ground reality in the constituencies and pacify them.

With the schedule for the State Assembly elections already announced and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) gearing up to launch a political blitzkrieg with its supremo K. Chandrashekar Rao embarking on 17-day tour of 41 constituencies, the Congress party has a Herculean task to identify the disgruntled leaders and pacify them to back the official candidates and match the rival parties.

The AICC has constituted a four member panel comprising AICC in-charge Manikrao Thakre, Deepa Dasmunshi, Meenakshi Natarajan (both party observers) and former Minister K. Jana Reddy to hold wide ranging consultations with the party leaders and identify the potential constituencies where trouble is likely to brew after announcement of the tickets.

The spectacular win of Congress in neighbouring Karnataka Assembly elections saw huge response to the party’s invitation for applications from aspirants. Over 1,050 applications were submitted, which were subsequently scrutinised by a screening committee that shortlisted three names from each constituency. The committee also banked on a survey report submitted by the poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu.

Too many aspirants

But too many aspirants within the party, entry of leaders from other parties and newcomers testing their luck is all compounding the Congress woes. The party and more so the four-member panel now has its task cut out to bring a sense of unity as it has to tackle the trouble that could arise after announcement of the candidates list. Pacifying serious party contenders, reassuring the defectors who lost out and handle the threats held out against the newcomers is where the party leaders patience will be put to test.