AICC takes charge of party affairs in AP

                                                                            

Annoyed by the persistent differences among senior Congress leaders in Andhra Pradesh, the AICC has decided to take charge of the by-election campaign and directed its emissary Vayalar Ravi to continue his task of planning, coordinating and monitoring till conclusion of the polls.

Interactions

After spending five days in the State where he held extensive interactions with party leaders and visited the Godavari districts, Mr. Ravi will return next week to discharge his mandate.

On his return to Delhi, Mr. Ravi will submit a detailed report on the infighting between Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana and other key leaders besides explaining the party's preparedness or the lack of it for facing the by-election.

TSR for Nellore LS seat

An indication that the high command had taken complete charge was the formal announcement of T. Subbarami Reddy being named the Congress candidate for the Nellore Lok Sabha seat. AICC president Sonia Gandhi, who gave the nod, asked Mr. Reddy to plunge into the by-election campaign.

After his return, Mr. Ravi is expected to tour 16 Assembly constituencies and directly meet the party cadre.

Congress leaders who met him got a clear impression that the high command was disappointed with the state of affairs here.

A leader close to him said Ms. Gandhi deputed Mr. Ravi to submit an independent report as she was perturbed by the developments in Andhra Pradesh.

Serious note

Leaders noted that Mr. Ravi had taken a serious note of the spate of complaints against Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy and Mr. Satyanarayana, lack of coordination among top leaders, reluctance to attack Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy and fear of faring badly in the by-election.

The report to be submitted by Mr. Ravi, it is believed, may form the basis for a mid-course correction including change of leadership.

Whether this will happen before the elections or later depends on the contents of the report.

The growing anger at the delay in deciding the fate of Telangana was another issue that the AICC leader had noted with concern.

They said Mr. Ravi was eager to know how many seats the Congress would win in the 2014 elections, if the demand for Telangana was conceded.

Leaders from all regions were unanimous that the high command had put the State Congress leaders on notice. “They will not brook any more infighting and will not hesitate to initiate stern action, if the party fares badly in the by-poll,” a PCC functionary said. 

from hindu