Uttam Meets Sonia, Offers To Quit As TPCC President

A change of guard in the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) is in the offing.

Incumbent President N Uttam Kumar Reddy reportedly called on Sonia Gandhi and told her that he would like to step down from the post.

According to party sources, Reddy, along with his wife and former MLA Padmavathi Reddy, called on Gandhi in New Delhi today. Following the debacle of the party in the Huzurnagar Assembly by-elections recently, Uttam Kumar Reddy is reported to have told the party supremo that he would step down, and urged her to appoint his successor.

The decision of Reddy to step down has led to a competition among senior leaders of the party for the post. Party MPs Revanth Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, former minister and MLA D Sridhar Babu, another MLA T Jagga Reddy and former minister K Jana Reddy are said to be in the race.

However, Revanth Reddy is facing opposition from some of the leaders of the party. Former MP V Hanumantha Rao is opposing the candidature of Revanth Reddy for the post. He is urging the high command to appoint any leader to the post except Revanth Reddy, saying that the MP from Malkajgiri had joined the party just before the Assembly elections.

However, Revanth Reddy does appear to have the brightest prospects.

The chances of Komatireddy Venkat Reddy are also bright, but the comments made by his younger brother Rajagopal Reddy may drag him down.

Many party leaders are also supporting the candidature of another former minister D Sridhar Babu. The reason is that Babu is known to be a no-nonsense leader who does not have any coterie in the party.

The party high command is said to be observing all the developments in the issue, and to be firm on appointing the next PCC president before the issuance of the election notification for the urban local bodies.

The high command is likely to take a decision on the issue after November 16.