Hyderabad: With elections approaching, discipline in the Congress is going for a toss. Party senior leaders are openly staking claim to top positions, embarrassing the party leadership. Party newcomer A. Revanth Reddy started the trend by stating that he wanted to become the Chief Minister if Congress won the election. Veteran leader K. Jana Reddy, the state Congress Legislature Party head, very often says only he is eligible to become the CM.

Two days ago, AICC secretary and former PCC president V. Hanumantha Rao said some day a leader from the Backward Classes from the Congress would become Chief Minister. Mr Rao, who belongs to the BC community, did not name himself, a BC leader said. Some Congress leaders have taken these statements to the notice of the high command. Sources in the Congress said that the high command had directed the party leaders not to make such statements.





Despite this, Congress MLA S.A. Sampath Kumar, who was expelled from the Assembly, told mediapersons in an informal chat said that his target was to become TPCC president after 2019. “Definitely I will become TPCC president,” he said. The controversial stat-ements of senior leaders have become headache to the TPCC leadership as well as the high command.

Congress legislator Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, who was also expelled, has openly criticised TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Mr Jana Reddy several times over their alleged failure to pressure the state government to implement the High Court judgement over revoking the expulsion. Several leaders have complained to the high command on the functioning of the party. A senior leader submitted a report to the high command saying the leadership had failed to expose the misdeeds and corruption of the TRS.