Mahesh Kumar Goud likely to be new Telangana Congress chief

Senior Congress leader and Telangana legislative council member Bomma Mahesh Kumar Goud has been finalised as the president of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee.

Senior Congress leader and Telangana legislative council member Bomma Mahesh Kumar Goud has been finalised as the president of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), people familiar with the matter said.

Goud’s name was cleared during the meeting of present PCC chief and chief minister A Revanth Reddy with All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders held in New Delhi on Friday. (ANI)

Goud’s name was cleared during the meeting of present PCC chief and chief minister A Revanth Reddy with All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders held in New Delhi on Friday.

“The high command has zeroed in on Goud after taking the opinions of other senior Congress leaders from Telangana, including deputy chief minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, state irrigation minister and former PCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy and others, besides AICC in-charge of Telangana affairs Deepa Das Munshi,” a Telangana Congress leader privy to the discussions said.

He further said that the chief minister also proposed names of senior Dalit Congress leader like Adluri Laxman or A Sampath Kumar and a tribal leader P Balaram Naik for the PCC chief post. “But in all probability, Mahesh Kumar Goud’s name will be announced, unless the high command changes its decision at the last moment,” the Congress leader quoted above said.

If the high command decides to revamp the entire PCC executive, the announcement of a new PCC president may get delayed by a few days, he said adding that “otherwise, the announcement might come by Saturday morning.”

Goud, who is presently the PCC working president (organisation), has been the front runner for the PCC president post for a long time, though there were several other aspirants for the post like former MP Madhu Yashki, Adluri Laxman, D Seethakka and P Balram Naik.

“The high command has decided to go by the tradition of appointing an OBC leader as the PCC chief, whenever the chief minister is from the Reddy community to strike a social balance in the party and the government,” the Congress leader said.

The leader further said that there is also a tradition in the party that if the chief minister is from southern Telangana, the PCC chief post has to go to a leader from northern Telangana to maintain regional balance. Since Revanth Reddy is from southern Telangana district of Mahabubnagar, Mahesh Kumar Goud, who hails from Nizamabad, is the obvious choice of the high command, the Congress leader added.