Hyderabad: Congress grappling to declare 2nd list, Rahul Gandhi may take final call today

Hyderabad : The Congress’s Central Election Committee (CEC) on Thursday postponed the meeting towards finalising the candidates for another day. The party leader Rahul Gandhi may take a final call on second list of candidates on October 27.

According to party sources, the CEC’s deliberations for scrutinising the remaining 64 seats which continued for late night hours on Wednesday took a break on Thursday. The CEC, which is likely to have one final meeting, is most likely to clear all the remaining 64 seats, including those which are part of the alliance with Left parties. With 4 seats being offered to CPI and CPM, the discussions on Wednesday cleared almost all the names of the Congress candidates contesting in 60 segments and is ready for the final approval. One of the reasons is also accommodation of the latest joinees like Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy who is scheduled to formally join on Friday.

The Left parties which are seeking seats from Nalgonda and Khammam parliamentary constituencies are insisting on some of the seats such as Munugode and Paleru which are considered to be winning seats to the Congress. The grand old party which is likely to field heavyweights in these constituencies remains reluctant to give up. There is also every possible chance of Left parties going all alone, if the seats which they are seeking are not accommodated. “Given the recent history the Left has supported BRS and sometimes these parleys with Congress appear to be superficial. Only thing forcing them is the national alliance INDIA, which they are part of. If these talks fail they will have an excuse of going all alone without Congress in Telangana,” felt a party leader.

Meanwhile, party’s BC leaders remain disturbed over the way Rajgopal Reddy is being welcomed into party fold in the presence of Rahul Gandhi in an event to be held on Friday. “It is unfortunate that the party where we have served for decades has transformed into this. These leaders belonging to upper castes have earlier cursed our leadership and are now being welcomed without any qualms. Some of us will follow the path of PonnalaLakshmaiah, a dedicated Congress leader who left the party with a heavy heart. This is quite unbecoming of the national party which has historically got the support from the weaker sections,” lamented a Youth Congress leader.