HYDERABAD: Congress, through its grand alliance experiment, is trying to stitch together a formidable and inclusive force ahead of the elections by striking a balance between different caste groups during the issuance of tickets. With an eye on social engineering and social justice, Congress is planning to give importance to members of Backward Castes and other disadvantaged sections while issuing tickets and also ensure that all subgroups such as Madiga and Mala in SCs and Lambadas and Adivasis in STs are given proper representation as well.
AICC leadership on Monday discussed with several SC, ST and BC leaders from Telangana about probable contestants from these sections and their chances of winning. Among the 119 Legislative Assembly constituencies in Telangana, 19 are reserved for SCs and 12 are for STs. As SC/STs have traditionally been a Congress vote bank, the party had launched a Leadership Development Mission in Reserved Constituencies (LDMRC) in these constituencies more than a year ago to strengthen its cadre and consolidate its voter base.
While leaders like V Hanumantha Rao have demanded that the party give at least 2 Assembly seats to OBCs in each Parliamentary constituency, leaders from OBC department have written to Rahul Gandhi to allocate tickets to them according to their percentage of total population. With BC leaders inside the party and pressure groups outside it demanding to give more tickets to BCs, the party high command is exploring the possibility of accommodating contestants from all groups in its list. Meanwhile, AICC top bosses are also keen on not disappoint leaders from the Reddy community, who have been integral to the Congress’ fortunes.