Telangana: Disappointed Cong leaders threaten to quit

Even as the Congress Party is in the process of finalizing the third and final list of its candidates for the Telangana Assembly elections, disappointed leaders who hoped a nomination are resorting to protests at the district and state headquarters of the national party.

The Congress, which has formed a Grand Alliance with TDP, CPI and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS), is contesting for 94 seats out of the total 119 seats in the Assembly.
 
Alleging corruption in allocation of seats, Rangareddy DCC president Kyama Mallesh an aspirant released an audiotape alleging that AICC Screening Committee Chairman Bhakta Charan Das' son sought Rs 3 cr to allocate Ibrahimpatnam seat. Making yet another sensational disclosure the DCC president alleged that TRS leader Danam Nagendar has paid Rs 10 cr to Bhakta Charan das to field a weak candidate Dasoju Sravan against him in the crucial Khairatabad segment here.  
 
Karthik Reddy, Son of former Congress Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy quit the party as he failed to secure Rajendranagar seat. His supporters created ruckus at the segment level office.
 
Similarly, former PCC President Ponnala Laxmayya is camping in New Delhi as his name was mentioned in the first two lists  (75seats)  released by the AICC. “The Janagaon seat is mine and the delay is because of the confusion arising out of the demand from grand Alliance Partners,” Ponnala told DH over phone.
 
Muslim leaders in Congress are also upset with the high command and are contemplating to quit en masse. Muslims in the Congress have been asking for 14 seats in proportionate to their population in the newly created Telangana state. But, only four names were figured in the initial two lists released till Wednesday. According to the leaders, Muslims are the deciding force in 45 Assembly constituencies in the state.
 
In addition to the trouble within, the alliance partners TDP and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) also have posed trouble to Congress as they failed to get the seats that they have anticipated as part of the seat adjustment.

TJS on Wednesday unilaterally released a list of 12 constituencies where it wanted to contest. It fielded candidates in Asifabad, Station Ghanpur and Mahabubanar over and above the quota allocated for the new party. However, the CPI is content with the three seats allocated to it-Husnabad, Wyra and Bellampally even though it wanted two more.