Former MLA Requests to Sonia Gandhi for Prioritizing Weaker Sections to Lead the Congress Party to Victory in Telangana

Respected Madam ….

Namasthe …

Sub: Request for Prioritizing Weaker Sections to Lead the Congress Party to Victory in Telangana …

 You are aware that elections for 119 assembly constituencies will be held in Telangana on November 30, 2023. Fifty-four candidates have already been announced to contest the upcoming assembly elections in Telangana. After reviewing the initial candidate list, as a well-wisher of the Congress party, a former legislator, and a former APSRTC chairman, I would like to draw your attention to the harm being caused to the party.

Out of the 54 candidates announced in the initial list, 12 have recently joined the Congress from BRS, BJP, and other parties. TPCC President, Mr. Revanth Reddy, is manipulating the ticket allotment process for his followers, citing biased surveys, while neglecting those who have been dedicatedly working in their respective constituencies for many years. Every leader on the screening committee, along with the TPCC president, is involved in the ticket allotment process.
 
Instead of prioritizing individuals who align with the party's values and principles, undeserving and incapable people are being portrayed as leaders. In fact, the leaders being presented as prominent figures in front of the Delhi leadership by TPCC have not only faced repeated electoral defeats (4 to 5 times) but have also caused internal strife within their respective parties, weakening the party's standing in their districts.
For instance, Tummala Nageshwar Rao, who recently shifted from BRS, has lost elections five times, including three losses while serving as a minister. He is now being projected as a prominent leader of Khammam district, alongside Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, also from BRS and now in Congress. Both of these leaders failed to secure more than one seat for the BRS in the last Assembly elections in the erstwhile Khammam district.

It deeply saddens me to inform you that leaders like these are being awarded tickets based on biased and unreliable surveys. It's disheartening to witness them being embraced by the former president of AICC, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, with hopes that the Congress party will regain its past glory in Telangana primarily through them.

Since 2014, many BC, SC, ST, and minority leaders have dedicatedly worked to strengthen the party with the sole aim of bringing the Congress party to power in Telangana. However, TPCC President and other senior leaders are sidelining these leaders of the underprivileged and weaker sections, who have made numerous sacrifices in the last ten years for the party, by excluding them from AICC leadership appointments.

  In challenging times, the backbone of the Congress party has always been the underprivileged. Neglecting these sections is not in the best interest of the Congress party. A historic decision was made at the Congress Working Committee meeting in Delhi recently, deciding to conduct a nationwide caste census.  Whenever the Congress party faced adversity, it was the weaker sections that stood by it in united Andhra Pradesh.

 Despite the Congress party's nationwide defeat after the Emergency, in 1977, united Andhra Pradesh supported the Congress party and Indira Gandhi by providing 41 Lok Sabha seats. The state played a significant role in bringing the Congress party to power in 1978 and 1989, as you are well aware.

 In 1978, upper-caste leaders were either with the Janata Party or Congress (R). The Congress (I), led by Indira Gandhi, secured a new party symbol, 'hand,' on February 1, and elections were held on February 25. The Congress (I) offered tickets to many leaders from weaker sections, resulting in a remarkable victory despite being a new party without substantial support from upper-caste leaders. In 1989, when Rajiv Gandhi lost elections, the state contributed 39 out of 42 parliament seats.

 United Andhra Pradesh also played a crucial role in the formation of UPA-1 and UPA-2 governments in 2004 and 2009, respectively. Throughout these victories, it was the marginalized and minority communities who stood by the Congress party. Yet, the honest supporters of the Congress party from the weaker sections have not received due recognition in the state so far.  

 In neighboring states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, and other states, the Congress party has honored the backward sections by appointing Chief Ministers. Notable examples include Orissa's Giridhar Gamang (ST), Karnataka’s Devaraj Urs, Bangarappa, Dharam Singh, Veerappa Moily, Siddaramaiah (BCs), and Maharashtra’s Vasantrao Phool singh Naik (Lambada), AR Antulay (minority) and Sushil Kumar Shinde (SC) andBihar’s Abdul Ghafoor (minority).  I wish to bring to your kind notice that  Mr.Vasanth Rao Phool singh Naik, a weaker section leader, was given the opportunity to work as chief Minister of Maharashtra for 12 years from 1963 to 1975.

 However, in the Telugu states, except for the late Damodaram Sanjeevayya (SC), 1960 to 1962. Only for two years leaders from the weaker sections have not had this opportunity. All other Chief Ministers have come from forward castes, despite the Congress winning power from 1952-1983, 1989-1994, and 2004-2014.


Considering all these factors, and to uphold the principles of social justice, it is imperative to announce that the next Chief Minister of Telangana will be from the weaker sections, which constitute nearly 90% of the population. This step will help the party gain support from the weaker sections and improve its prospects in the upcoming Telangana elections. Therefore, I urge the AICC to promptly declare that the Chief Minister of Telangana will be from the weaker sections.

During the 'Bharat Jodo' padayatra of former AICC President Mr. Rahul Gandhi, AICC General Secretary Mrs. Priyanka Gandhi's meetings, AICC President Mr. Mallikharjun Kharge's meetings, and other senior leaders' gatherings, many Congress leaders and workers in Telangana worked tirelessly to make them successful. Substantial financial resources were allocated to these events.

 
For the success of these gatherings, the TPCC president promised to allocate tickets to these leaders in various constituencies. However, now these same leaders are being treated unfairly as tickets are being awarded to leaders from other parties. This has resulted in widespread dissatisfaction among Congress leaders and workers who have been denied tickets in many constituencies across the state.

This dissatisfaction is likely to have repercussions in the elections. The TPCC president is playing with the political careers of many leaders in the name of biased surveys, which are conducted under the TPCC president's supervision. To give preference to his favored candidates, he is manipulating the surveys to present them favorably to the party leadership and secure priority in ticket allocation.

Conducting an impartial inquiry into the surveys submitted by the TPCC presidents will reveal the truth. These biased surveys must be halted if the Congress party wishes to regain credibility in Telangana. A comprehensive investigation into these surveys is important, especially in light of the allegations in the media and from leaders on various platforms that significant sums of money are changing hands in ticket allocations.

It is essential to prioritize the weaker sections who have consistently supported the Congress party in challenging times and assure them that they will be valued if the party comes to power in Telangana. The AICC chief should, at the very least, prioritize the weaker sections in ticket allocation in the second and third lists and promise that the post of Chief Minister will be offered to the weaker sections if the Congress party secures power in Telangana. 

  
By granting leadership roles to the weaker sections with this assurance, the Congress party can potentially gain the reins of power in Telangana. This should be the party's slogan. We must avoid repeating the mistakes of K. Chandrashekar Rao, who made promises to Dalits and weaker sections but failed to fulfill them.
In light of all these concerns, I, as a benefactor of the Congress party, urge the Congress party leadership to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the issues of ticket allocation mistakes, surveys, distortions in ticket allocation, and preferences given to 'parachute' leaders.
 

Thank you.

 Your  Sincerely
 
Gone Prakash Rao,

 Former M.L.A