Telangana Congress launches ‘Ghar Wapsi’; steps up efforts to cajole ‘deserters’

Hyderabad: After registering a resounding victory in Karnataka, the Congress High Command is paying special attention to Telangana which is getting ready for Assembly elections this year-end. In a bid to consolidate the party, the Telangana Congress has launched ‘Ghar Wapsi’ of the former leaders. Senior leaders who left the party are being contacted and convinced to re-join.

Telangana PCC chief A Revanth Reddy has asked the district party heads and senior leaders to identify those who quit the party and send their list from mandal to State level. The Assembly constituency in-charges will hold talks with the leaders who served for long and quit the Congress due to various reasons at village and mandal level. They will be given assurance of posts and seats in the local body elections if they return to the party.

At the State level Congress in-charge Manik Rao Thakre and Revanth Reddy have already prepared the list of former senior leaders to invite them into the party before the elections. Many senior leaders like G Vivek, Konda Vishweshawar Reddy, A Mohan, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, A Maheshwar Reddy quit the Congress.

“Some more senior leaders at the State and district level have also been identified. A majority of them are receiving good support from people at the ground level”, a senior leader from old Mahbubnagar district said the BJP was not strong enough in many districts. Senior Congress leaders, who joined the saffron party and BRS, are struggling to get seats in the next Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. The Congress party will give them the assurance of party tickets, if the identified senior leaders are ready to re-join the party.

“Some former Congress leaders already spoke with Revanth and other top leaders and expressed their readiness to re-join the party. Some big leaders will join Congress during the next visit of AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi this month end or in July. From August onwards, the Congress leadership will intensify the poaching of sulking BRS and BJP leaders.

A plan of action to strengthen the Congress by rejoining of the former leaders will be monitored by the high command directly; it will give necessary instructions to seal a political deal with senior leaders who join the party”, sources said. The TPCC leadership will prepare a report on the winning prospects of the leaders who join the party before they are given assurance.