All India Congress Committee gets cracking on constituting 28 District Congress Committees by Jan 15

Hyderabad: The Congress has speeded up the process of appointment of office-bearers to the party’s district committees. The list of names of probable office-bearers is expected to be submitted to the All India Congress Committee by week-end. 

According to party sources, TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy will select office-bearers and send the list to the AICC for approval. 
The Congress has decided to constitute committees in all the 28 districts for effective functioning of the district units. Till now the party has district committees for 10 undivided districts as the AICC did not recognise the newly-formed 31 districts two years ago in the State in the past.

Recently the government added two more districts to take the number to total to 33. Party leaders said the AICC recognised the newly-formed districts few months in the run-up to the Assembly elections. However, committees were not appointed due to the elections.

They said as Lok Sabha elections are fast approaching, the high command is keen on ensuring effective functioning of the party at all levels – State, district, mandal and booth-level.  A recent meeting of the AICC seniors has fixed time frame to complete the formation of committees at all the levels. According to this, the DCCs have to be formed by January 15. 

Sources in the party said TPCC president Uttam Kumar Reddy, who is on foreign tour, is expected to return to Hyderabad on January 11. He is likely to send the list to the AICC after his return. As per the rules of the Congress, the AICC is the competent authority to appoint district committees. 

The AICC has given certain guidelines for the appointment of DCC presidents. According to them, women and the backward classes should be given certain number of DCC president posts. About half of the DCC posts may be given to them. 

The high command made it clear that the candidates, who lost the Assembly polls, should not be appointed as presidents of the DCCs. This rule has been imposed as the high command has barred those in party posts from contesting the elections. 

Party leaders said the present presidents of DCCs would continue in five districts. The presidents of DCCs of Mahbubnagar, Nizamabad, Hyderabad, Karimnagar and Warangal may be continued as they have not contested in the Assembly polls. Rest of the 28 districts would get new DCC presidents by January 15.