As the date of polling for the presidential election is just two days away (July 19), the camp managers of the Congress have intensified their efforts to ensure that every legislator belonging to the party casts his or her vote for UPA’s Pranab Mukherjee.
Though chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana are busy touring districts, both of them are putting in all efforts to avert cross-voting by Congress members of the electoral college. Botcha is holding confabulations particularly with party legislators from the Telangana region over telephone since they seem to be sulking over the high command’s indecision on the statehood issue. He had called on panchayat raj minister K Jana Reddy two days ago and sought his support to his efforts on this score.
According to sources, the top two in the state Congress will stay put in Hyderabad from July 17 to 19 and fully concentrate on the presidential election strategy.
Meanwhile, latest indications coming from the YSR Congress that its legislators may vote for Pranab have come as a relief to the state Congress leadership which is racking its brains on tackling the Jagan factor.
As decided earlier, mock polling will be conducted in the Jubilee Hall between noon and 1 pm on July 18 when the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meets under the chairmanship of the chief minister.
Congress camp managers calculate that 163 legislators will vote for Pranab. Of them, 153 are from Congress, seven from MIM, one each from CPM and Lok Satta Party, and one independent. If YSRCP formally decides to vote for Pranab, two MLAs who deserted the Congress in support of Jagan, Alla Nani and Krishna Ranga Rao, may also vote for Pranab.
