HYDERABAD: Before long, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) will have a new look. With AICC president Rahul Gandhi remaining determined to step down owning moral responsibility for the debacle the party has suffered in the recent Lok Sabha elections, that TPCC too might have a new president sooner than later. When Rahul Gandhi steps down as president, the Congress Committees would remain dissolved in all states and new committees would have to constituted and in Telangana too, a new committee is expected to be in place.
After the Congress suffered a humiliating defeat in the Assembly elections by winning 19 of the 119 seats, the decibel levels of those who wanted incumbent TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy to step down had been going up and when 12 of the MLAs merged in the TRS legislature Party, the demand only became shriller.
Accusing Uttam Kumar Reddy of the inability in keeping the flock together, Munugodu legislator Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy had declared his intent to join the BJP. While announcing his decision to don saffron robes, Rajagopal Reddy had washed the dirty linen in the public, calling Uttam Kumar Reddy to account on why he failed to lead the party to victory in the Assembly elections and not be able to keep the legislator from migrating to the TRS.
Rajagopal Reddy’s brother Venkat Reddy, who represents Bhongir in Lok Sabha, keeps saying that it is high time that there should be a change of guard for the TPCC and that he does not see any reason why he should not helm the party. Though Uttam Kumar Reddy had not said anything on the chorus his dissidents have been singing for his replacement, party in charge for Telangana RC Khuntia insisted that there was no need for any change of the leader and that the status quo would continue.
At present, the challenge before the TPCC is to face the municipal elections in the state later this month. The party, being in a run-down state, is not yet ready to bounce back even as the TRS is ravenous and rapacious to bag all the civic bodies, is in overdrive with party working president KT Rama Rao taking charge of the responsibility to steer the party to victory.
With Rahul Gandhi, asking the party functionaries to put their hands on the deck and elect a new leader, it is expected that Telangana Congress would be revamped which might make a serious attempt to give TRS a run for its money in the ensuing elections for civic bodies.
Though the strategy committee headed by former MP Ponnam Prabhakar met at Gandhi Bhavan and took stock of the situation in the context of the municipal elections, it is said that unless the party gets leadership, the party may not be able to come back into reckoning any sooner.
Uttam in trouble?
TPCC chief and Nalgona MP Uttam Kumar Reddy has been under fire since the Congress’ humiliating defeat in the Assembly elections. Also, as many as 12 out of 19 Congress MLAs have defected to TRS, causing even more trouble for Reddy