In a first for Telangana, the Congress has appointed cluster in-charges and constituency observers for the upcoming Assembly elections.
Published Nov 05, 2023 | 10:09 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 05, 2023 | 10:37 AM
Telangana and Karnataka Congress leaders with Rahul Gandhi (Supplied X)
In a first for Telangana, the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) has appointed “cluster In-charges” and “constituency observers” for the 30 November Assembly election — an indication that it is leaving nothing to chance in a contest the party now senses it has a chance of winning.
Interestingly, all those appointed by AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal on Saturday, 4 November, are from neighbouring Karnataka.
All the 10 cluster in-charges appointed are ministers; of the 48 constituency observers, 34 are MLAs and 12 are MLCs. The remaining comprise a former MLC, and a working president of the party.
All of them are leaders who can take credit for being part of the team that led the Congress to a thumping victory in the May Assembly elections in Karnataka — and are currently playing key roles in the state government.
AICC appointed 10 cluster in-charges from Karnataka to boost the Telangana Congress.
The 10 cluster in-charges appointed are: Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao; IT&BT Minister Priyank Kharge; Minister for Higher Education MC Sudhakar; Minister for Medical Education Sharan Prakash Patil; Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs KH Muniyappa; Minister of Revenue Krishna Byre Gowda; Minister for Backward Class Development, and Kannada and Culture Department Shivaraj S Tangadagi; Minister of Housing Department BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan; Minister for Environment and Forest Eshwara Khandre; and Minister of Youth and Sports B Nagendra.
The 48 constituency observers appointed will each focus on individual segments.
Of these, 13 Scheduled Caste (SC) reserved constituencies, four are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs), with the remaining 31 constituencies falling in the general category.
A highly placed source in the team of poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu, who is working on the Congress in the state, told South First: “This is the first time we are appointing political observers in Telangana. This is to facilitate the Telangana Congress candidates in the election process and secure victory. With (Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister) DK Shivakumar overseeing our campaign and utilising his resources effectively, we aim to come to power in the state.”
Some leaders indicated that more election observers are likely to be appointed from Karnataka Congress.
The AICC has announced the names of candidates in as many as 100 of the 119 seats going to the hustings a little over three weeks from now.
As per the Election Commission of India (ECI) notification, the nomination process began on 3 November and will continue until 10 November.
Notable leaders who submitted their nominations on the first day included Telangana Congress state chief A Revanth Reddy from Kodangal and Thummala Nageswara Rao from Khammam.
The third list is expected to be released anytime now. The the delay is being attributed to the protracted alliance talks with the Left parties, the Congress party’s partners on the Opposition INDIA bloc.
