Media reports earlier this week suggested that Telangana Congress Working President A Revanth Reddy may replace Uttam Kumar Reddy.
Senior Congress leader RC Khuntia, who is in charge of affairs of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) on Friday said that there would be no change in the state unit president’s post and that Uttam Kumar Reddy would continue as the state party chief.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi and reacting to reports that the TPCC would soon get a new chief, Khuntia said that there was no such plan by the Congress, at least not until the municipal elections in Telangana.
The speculation began after Telangana Congress Working President A Revanth Reddy met Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi. A photo of Revanth and his family with Sonia Gandhi was widely circulated on social media.
The Congress leadership has been quick to dismiss reporters that Revanth would replace present TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy.
”The AICC had called for a meeting to discuss about the party’s membership drive. No discussion took place on appointing a new PCC chief,” CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka told reporters in Hyderabad.
Media reports suggest that while Revanth’s name was almost cleared for TPCC chief, senior Congress leaders had lobbied with the high command to stall the development, pointing out that Revanth had come from an RSS background and had even served a long stint in Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
Both Uttam and Khuntia are facing dissent from within the party, with several senior party leaders jumping ship. Another group of leaders within the Congress’ Telangana unit including Marri Shashidhar Reddy, V Hanumanth Rao, M Kodanda Reddy, S Chandrasekhar and B Kamalkar Rao, have also formed a ‘Congress Loyalists Forum’.
The Congress is presently eyeing the upcoming municipal polls but is facing stiff competition from the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the BJP, which has been gaining ground in the state.