Hyderabad: AICC leaders have opened a Pandora’s Box over the chief minister’s post even before the elections. Pulling out all stops to attract voters ahead of the elections and to counter the TRS, Union minister Jairam Ramesh initially started the ball rolling by announcing that a Dalit would be made the first CM of Telangana state.
He, however, later changed his statement and announcement that OBCs, minorities and women would be considered for the top post. However, the Telangana Congress leaders did not take Mr Ramesh’s statement seriously and AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi himself announced during the Warangal public meeting that he wanted to see a woman as the first chief minister of Telangana state.
After Mr Gandhi’s statement, many Telangana Congress leaders, who were aspiring for the CM’s post, are disappointed. The front-runners for chief minister’s post in Telangana Congress are Telangana PCC chief Ponnala Lakshmaiah, who belongs to the BC community, K. Jana Reddy and Damodar Raja Narasimha, both from the SC community, D. Srinivas, another BC community leader and N. Uttam Kumar Reddy. Also in the race are J. Geetha Reddy, D.K. Aruna and Sunitha Laxma Reddy.
In Telangana, there will be tough fights in almost all Assembly constituencies between the TRS and the Congress including in the Gajwel segment from where TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao is contesting. The CM aspirants of the Telangana Congress and their followers have been telling the voters in their constituencies that they will become the chief minister.
They say that this way, people will vote in favour of them thinking that the CM will be from their district, bringing in all the benefits that go with it. In Janagama in Warangal district, Mr Lakshmaiah is facing a tough fight against the TRS candidate. His followers are campaigning that he will become the first CM of Telangana and they have been getting a positive response from the electorate.
However, Mr Rahul Gandhi’s announcement in Warangal about a women CM, has queered the pitch. Senior Telangana Congress leaders are now worried about Mr Gandhi’s statement and are afraid of their prospects in the Assembly elections.
