The Congress flag.
Credit: PTI File Photo
The announcement of six guarantees and a certain pre poll surveys indicating that the party had picked up in the poll bound Telangana had definitely pepped up spirits of the Congress leadership.
But, it would be a tough call to the central leadership to pick the chief minister in the post-poll scenario if the party comes to power. Amid high hopes in 2018 polls, Congress put up a dismal show, bagging just 19 seats in the 119 member Telangana assembly.
There are too many leaders in Congress in Telangana who are nurturing their ambitions to become chief minister.
While a few of them have been indirectly asserting their position by their actions some are openly pushing their case. Former minister and senior leader, K Jana Reddy, PCC chief, A Revanth Reddy, CLP leader, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, former TPCC president and MP Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy, another MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, CWC permanent invitee, former deputy chief minister, Damodar Rajanarasimha are said to be the frontrunners.
If the hung-like situation emerges it would be a real tough call to Congress to ‘satisfy’ all such CM aspirants. Former minister and senior leader, K Jana Reddy had not shied away from expressing his intention. “I’m not after the post of the chief minister but the post may come after me. We can’t predict what will happen in the future. If luck has it, who knows I may also become CM like how PV Narasimha Rao had become prime minister unexpectedly. If that’s the people’s wish my son will resign and I will contest and continue as the chief minister,” said Jana Reddy addressing party workers recently.
Jana Reddy, a seven-time MLA, lost the 2018 election from Nagarjuna Sagar and was also unsuccessful in the by-election held in 2021. This time he opted out of contesting. His sons Jayveer Reddy and Raghuveer Reddy applied for tickets. However, Congress leadership had allotted seats only to Jayveer to fight from Nagarjunasagar segment.
Revanth Reddy has been openly asserting himself by either declaring first job to a woman with disabilities after Congress comes to power to announce the date of Congress chief minister winning the poll. For now he was successful in securing tickets of his choice in certain segments in the first list announced by the party leadership recently. Interestingly he lost from Kodangal in the 2018 polls. He is now again in the fray from the same Kodangal seat.
Bhuvanagiri MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy is another leader who had openly expressed his ambition to take over the leadership of the Congress in Telangana. There was an intense race between Revanth Reddy and Venkat Reddy for the party's coveted post in the state. In the past in a snide remark against Revanth, Venkat Reddy said there are many CM aspirants in Congress not just Revanth.
Though Uttam, Bhatti Vikramarka and Rajanarasimha who are the old guards in the party and don’t openly assert for the top most, they always lobby with the central leadership.
“It's as if they were bitten before the child was born. They are not winning even 15 seats, they have not won in their own seats in the past, they have started fighting for the Chief Minister's chair. Now if Telangana falls in the hands of these people, state will go to dogs. They will fight for the chair,” said BRS leader, Prof Dasoju Sravan.