DS as PCC chief: rumblings in Cong circles

Rumblings in the state Congress leadership are being heard even as Dharmapuri Srivinas prepares to formally take charge as Pradesh Congress Committee president on Monday, January 17 at 11 AM at Gandhi Bhavan for the third time.

Though Mr Srinivas presently hold the job, he will renew his pledge again, and as expected, vow to strengthen the Congress party in the state, by uniting the various leaders who are at loggerheads with each other over the contentious issue of a separate Telangana state.

Mr Srinivas being renominated by the High Command for the post has roused the ire of senior Congress leaders, especially from Telangana, who expected him to be dumped because of his dismal showing in two successive elections. Mr Srinivas lost the elections in 2008 and in the by-polls in 2009, from the constituencies of his choice.

The frontrunners for the PCC chief’s post, including Mr Mohammed Ali Shabbir are said to be incensed that though the people have rejected Mr Srinivas, the High Command has reaffirmed its faith in his abilities to keep the Congress flock together.

A senior Congress leader said  that Mr Srinivas’s selected was based on the fact that he is from Telangana region. He lamented that the High Command could not find any other leader from the region to replace Mr Srinivas.

Another leader from the party said that the reason behind Mr Srinivas being renominated was simply because he enjoyed a good rapport with leaders from Seemandhra regions. He grumbled, on the condition of anonymity, that Mr Srinivas speaks about a separate state while in Telangana, talks about keeping Andhra Pradesh and the Congress party integrated once he reaches New Delhi.

Among the leaders who are said to be miffed about Mr Srinivas’s renomination, Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah, MP Madhu Yaskhi Goud, senior leaders Damodar Reddy and Jeevan Reddy are said to be the ones who are most ‘hurt’.