Mission Telangana: Congress to follow Karnataka model, leaders told to stop bickering

NEW DELHI: The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) will follow the Karnataka winning model to defeat the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the State in the ensuing elections.

On Tuesday, the strategy meeting, chaired by AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and former chief Rahul Gandhi, finalised the plan only with a rider that the party leaders should stop infighting and work in a concerted manner.

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters after the two-and-half-hour-long brainstorming session, AICC in-charge of Telangana Manikrao Thakre said that the key to the success of the Congress party in Telangana would be a united fight, leaving behind all internal differences.

TPCC chief A Revanth Reddy said that the election action plan was under implementation. “We discussed the strategy, the early release of the list of candidates, the components of the manifesto and the sections of the society that we need to approach for victory at the meeting,” he said. He added that the action plan included bolstering the party by filling up vacant positions at different levels.

Revanth Reddy said that the aim was to defeat the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) by highlighting the failures in the last 10 years.

Former MP Madhu Yashki Goud, dismissing speculations of an alliance between the BRS and the Congress in the ensuing elections, said that the Congress was not averse to aligning with secular parties but there would be no truck with the BRS. “We don’t see any difference between the BJP and the BRS. Hence, the BRS is not welcome to the anti-BJP opposition alliance meetings,” Yashki said.