Congress does caste balancing act

​New Delhi/ Hyderabad: The Congress is trying hard to strike a balance among the castes in the distribution of tickets for the ensuing Assembly election to take by its stride all castes - BCs, SCs, and STs. The Screening Committee of the AICC, which has taken up the exercise of selection of candidates for the next polls, is striving hard to accommodate all the sections in the list of party nominees.

As far as its alliance partner TJS is concerned, the Congress has offered 11 seats to which the latter is reportedly consented to. The only grouse they have is that it has not been allotted any seats in erstwhile Nalgonda, Khammam, Mahbubangar and Rangareddy barring Malkajgiri. According to sources, of the 94 seats to be contested by the Congress, the BCs would get a lion’s share followed by the Reddy community leaders. SC and ST leaders would be given their due share as per reservations and the SCs may get one more ticket. 

Of the 94 seats, the party has already finalised which 57 seats it wants to contest. "The problem in the remaining seats is due to seat sharing with the allies and multiple number of candidates seeking tickets. As the prospects of the Congress are zooming up in Telangana against the family rule of the TRS, the competition for tickets is naturally severe. Our effort is to ensure a united fight against the TRS misrule. We have by far been successful in it," sources said.

However, there are about 20 most contentious seats at least in which the party is not sure of its choice. Mancherial, Mudhole, Jukkal, Nizamabad Rural, Mahbubnagar, Kollapur, Deverakonda, Miryalaguda, Suryapet, Munugode, Patancheru, Medchal, Ibrahimpatnam, Rajendranagar, Mulug, Illendu, Yellareddy and Choppadandi apart from a couple of seats under GHMC are some of those.

The party is also facing mounting pressure from some seniors to give at least two seats in each of the Parliamentary Constituencies to BCs' in view of their numerical strength. Senior leaders like V Hanumanth Rao, have been strident in voicing the demand.

Party leaders said that the BCs may get 30, Reddy leaders may get 20, SC and ST leaders would get 32, Brahmin leader one, Kamma community two, Velama community 3 and Muslims four seats.