Hyderabad: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday met all the senior party leaders from Telangana to discuss party’s election strategy and alliance with other parties.
During the three hour long meeting, Rahul also met some of the leaders individually.
Rahul asked the leaders not to make any public comments on the alliance and ticket distribution, and not to criticise each other. He assured that the party will give tickets only to winning candidates and all the MLAs with a good image will be fielded from their constituencies. He observed that Congress will fight in all the constituencies where it was strong and leave other constituencies to the other alliance partners.
After the meeting, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Secretary RC Kuntia said that all those who were fighting against the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS’) corrupt and autocratic rule were with the Congress and the party was ready to align with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Rahul has authorised the state Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy to hold talks with the other parties. “But the final decision on the alliance will be by the AICC President,” Kuntia said, adding that the Congress will abide by the alliance-dharma in the distribution of tickets. “The party president urged all the leaders to work together to bring Congress to power and warned that anti-party activity by any leader, however big he is, will not be tolerated,” Kuntia noted.
Reddy said the party will not leave the constituencies, where it was confident of winning, to other parties.
It was also decided that during the election campaign, Rahul will address rallies in 10 districts. He has also constituted a three-member screening committee for Telangana. Some of the leaders requested that Sonia Gandhi also visit the state for the election campaign.
TRS’ Member of the Legislative Council Bhupathi Reddy and noted film producer Bandla Ganesh joined the Congress party on Friday, in Rahul’s presence.
