Rama Krishna Sangem
54 year old Bomma Mahesh Kumar Goud, MLC has been appointed as the new president of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC). The Congress high command has issued a media release on September 6, Friday, thus ending suspense over a couple of months long wait for the appointment. The AICC (All India Congress Committee) has been talking to different groups in the party’s state unit for over 3-4 months on this issue.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is currently holding the post of PCC chief too. His tenure ended in June, but the party top brass couldn’t finalize his successor till now. Besides Mahesh Goud, three more strong candidates – former MP Madhu Yashki Goud, Mahabubabad MP and former union minister P Balaram Naik and Dharmapuri MLA Adluri Lakshman too were were shortlisted for the post.
That Mahesh Goud has been almost chosen for the PCC post early August was evident from the fact that the high command has dropped enough hints to this effect. There are a few reasons for the choice. They are: Mahesh Goud has been the first choice of CM Revanth when he met the high command leaders at S0nia Gandhi residence in Delhi in the first week of August.
Another major reason was Mahesh has been almost discharging the duties of a PCC president as Telangana PCC working president (organisation). This organisation post is nothing but a deputy of PCC president. As CM Revanth is busy with official activities since December 2023, Mahesh has been handling all the PCC headquarters – Gandh Bhavan – duties and looking after party matters.
No 2 power centres
On the other hand, the high command also doesn’t want to create two power centres in Telangana. As Congress is in power here, CM Revanth Reddy will not be burdened with another strongman or an independent power centre here. Mahesh Goud suits this job description – he is a strong loyalist to both the party and the CM. After all, Mahesh Goud rose in the ranks of the party as an NSU(I) state president of AP in 1990s.
Congress carefully handed over the job of PCC to a BC at a time when BJP was trying to woo BCs and Madigas of SCs. Gouds, toddy tappers, are a powerful community in Telangana. Already, Ponnam Prabhakar is in the Cabinet as the face of this community. Now that Mahesh helms at PCC, this community may feel adequate representation in the Congress which will face local bodies elections soon.
