Even as two strong Congress leaders – Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Malkajgiri MP A Revanth Reddy are involved in intense lobbying in New Delhi for the post of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, yet another leader rushed to the national capital late on Wednesday night.
According to party sources, All India Congress Committee secretary and former MLA from Alampur A Sampath Kumar got an urgent call from the high command asking him to rush to New Delhi on Wednesday.
This led to speculation that Sampath Kumar could emerge as a dark horse in the PCC chief race. A Dalit leader from erstwhile combined Mahabubnagar district, Sampath has very good relations with the top leaders in the high command.
Apparently, the high command is of the view that appointing another Reddy – whether it is Komatireddy or Revanth Reddy as the PCC chief in place of outgoing Reddy – N Uttam Kumar Reddy, might trigger a lot of unrest in the party, especially in the weaker sections, who might drift away further from the party.
Already, Revanth Reddy has been facing a stiff opposition from seniors, particularly those from Backward Classes, on the ground that he is a new comer to the party and has RSS background.
On the other hand, there has also been opposition to Komatireddy from another section of party leaders who feel that he might compromise with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi because of his business interests.
So, if Sampath is made the PCC chief, nobody would question him as a he is a Dalit leader and it would silence the BC groups. However, one wonders whether Sampath has the charisma and money power to take on the BJP and the TRS.