HYDERABAD: Telangana Congress top leaders will not be in a position to finalise party tickets for 2023 assembly elections and 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the state as the AICC leadership will decide the candidates based on reports to be submitted by election strategist Sunil Kanugolu after doing the ground survey in all the 119 segments.
Even Telangana Congress president A Revanth Reddy may not be given a free hand to pick and choose candidates, it is learnt. Some key leaders, including Revanth, would be consulted just before finalising the candidates, sources said. The top leaders were told about this clearly during their recent meeting with Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.
The team of Sunil has already started the survey in 30 of the 119 constituencies in the first phase to assess the party position and what is needed to boost prospects of the party. The party high command shifted its focus on Telangana following reports indicating party’s revival in the state and how it has a better chance to stage a comeback if poll strategies are planned well in advance and implemented effectively. “Survey reports of each assembly constituency, party prospects, top three formidable candidates in each constituency, financial strength of the candidates, caste equations, image and winnable capacity of the candidates and other factors will be looked at before the AICC finalises the tickets for assembly and Parliament elections,” said a senior party leader. Bhuvanagiri MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy raised the issue and sought permission from Rahul Gandhi to finalise candidates in his constituency as Revanth has already started doing it.
The party leadership made it clear that the candidates would be finalised by it six months before the polls based on the survey reports.
