HYDERABAD: The Backward Classes (BC) leadership in the state Congress unit, which was up in arms over the community being allocated fewer tickets than others ahead of the Assembly polls, is now observing silence regarding representation in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Party sources suggested that the BC leaders are eyeing the TPCC president post and are thus maintaining a ‘strategic silence’.
Ahead of the Assembly elections, BC leaders in the state openly expressed their dissent over the Congress giving tickets to only 23 BC leaders citing the “Jitni Abadi, Utna Haq” (rights should be proportionate to community’s population) slogan by senior party leader Rahul Gandhi.
In the recent polls, they had demanded at least three seats in each Lok Sabha segment. A team of leaders even went to New Delhi to present their contentions to the Congress high command. However, it is learnt that the leadership coerced the BC leaders to settle down to 23.
For the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, the Congress has given three tickets to BCs out of the 14 announced.
In the remaining three seats — Khammam, Karimnagar and Hyderabad — a minority leader and two upper caste politicians are the frontrunners. The sources said a top BC leader is trying to get the Karimnagar ticket for a Velama aspirant.
The sources said though the party has given tickets to three BC leaders, the segments from where they were nominated are the ones where the support for the Congress is relatively less. A party leader on the condition of anonymity pointed out that Neelam Madhu has been fielded from Medak, but the constituency is traditionally considered a stronghold of the BRS.
The pink party had won six of the seven Assembly seats which make up the Medak Lok Sabha segment.
As there is a likelihood of a change of state unit chief after the Lok Sabha elections, BC leaders within the party are preparing to exert pressure on the Congress high command to appoint a leader from the community as TPCC president. They cite the “injustice” during both Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, especially at a time when the party is advocating for BC rights.