Municipal polls: Congress to woo backward classes with 50% seats

HYDERABAD: Congress will give 50% of seats to the backward classes (BCs) and has decided to make “political empowerment” of BCs its slogan in the ensuing municipal elections.
Congress would launch its municipal poll campaign from July 27 with the theme “Intintiki Congress and vaada vaada lo Congress jenda (Congress at the doorsteps of voters and Congress flag to fly high in every street)”.Congress leaders would go to voters blaming TRS of conspiring to “politically disempower” the BCs by slashing their reservation percentage in the new municipal bill, TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy told TOI.
Though a resurgent BJP has fixed the target of coming to power in 2023 in Telangana, Congress preparatory meeting for municipal polls held at Sangareddy on Sunday down played the saffron party’s ambitious target and said its victory in four Lok Sabha seats was like a flash in the pan. “Congress, which has its presence in every bylane of the state, is still the best bet to beat the ruling TRS,” the leaders said.
The 50% tickets to BCs to contest elections to urban local bodies includes Muslims of BC-E category. The one-day meeting was attended by AICC general secretary RC Khuntia, TPCC president and MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy, local MLA T Jayaprakash Reddy, CLP chief Bhatti Vikramarka, former minister Md Ali Shabbir, TPCC working presidents Ponnam Prabhakar and Kusum Kumar among others. “Slashing of the BC quota was an attempt by KCR government to politically disempower the BCs. Congress will not allow CM KCR to deny BCs their due share in municipal bodies,” Uttam said and called upon party workers to hold dharnas at all district headquarters on July 23 in protest against the injustices being done to BCs by the TRS government.
Uttam also condemned the TRS government for discrepancies in finalising the boundaries of municipal wards and said errors had crept into the process of reservation. “Even the HC has found the procedures adopted by the state government to be incorrect. BCs must be given quota proportionate to their population,” he added.