Five leaders vie for APCC chief’s post

Congress may not have a single MLA in Andhra Pradesh and its votes are less than 1 per cent. There is literally no activity in the party, no programmes are arranged. Yet, there are no less than five aspirants for the Andhra Pradesh Pradesh Congress Committee. Not just that, there is an intense lobbying on for this post.

The Congress which ruled AP for decades and registered massive victories in Andhra Pradesh even when the whole country rejected them, is now in dire straits. The party has no MLA for two consecutive terms. Not one Congressman managed to get back his security deposit in the past election. In 2014 elections, only one candidate could get back his security deposit. Former PCC chief Raghuveera Reddy, during whose term there was a semblance of activity, is now in dormancy.

His successor PCC chief V Shailajanath is completely inactive. He has not organized a single meeting of consequence during his tenure and there is a growing demand that he be replaced. What is surprising is that there are as many as five claimants for the post. Sources say that former MPs GV Harsha Kumar, JD Seelam, Chinta Mohan, former MLC Gidugu Rudra Raju and Sunkara Padma Sri are vying for the post. As of now party’s AP affairs incharge Oomen Chandy is said to be holding parleys with various party leaders.

It may be recalled that both Harsha Kumar and Chinta Mohan made key comments about the change in the PCC chief’s post. They said that a new PCC chief would soon be appointed for the Congress Party. They further said that the new PCC chief should be spotless and must have the tact and guile to lead the party.