“The Congress has to play the role of a real Opposition though it has no representation either in the State Assembly or in the Lok Sabha because the YSR Congress has surrendered itself to the BJP and its political ally the TDP,” APCC president N. Raghuveera Reddy said at a press conference here on Saturday.
The YSR Congress, which supported NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind, could not play the role of the Opposition. The Congress would fill the void and fight on behalf of the people, he said .
The Congress would take out padayatra in the areas where irrigation projects were still languishing in an incomplete state.
The neglect of Dalits, girijans, and minority communities by the NDA Government would be highlighted by the Congress leaders during a visit to their colonies as part of the Indira Gandhi birth centenary celebrations that would come to a close in November, he said.
Mr. Raghuveera Reddy said YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s hunger for power was evident in the declaration of the party’s “election manifesto” two years ahead of the elections.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was taking out a padayatra not to find out the problems of the people but to shower on them sops ahead of the elections.
The Congress short-listed half-a-dozen candidates for the Nandyal by-election. The name of the candidate who would be given the ticket would be finalised in consultation with the leadership, he said.
Organisational elections
While the TDP decided to spend ₹100 crore on the election, the YSR Congress earmarked ₹50 crore, Mr. Raghuveera Reddy alleged. The Congress, on the other hand, earmarked just ₹16 lakh, which was the ceiling fixed by the Election Commission, he added.
Congress MP and former Minister K.H. Muniyappa said party’s organisational elections would be conducted in five phases. Eight lakh people enrolled themselves by depositing ₹40 lakh as fee. Details of the members were being scrutinised and the final list would be published on August 6.
The issuance of ID cards to members and elections to district and Pradesh Congress Committees would be held between August 21 and September 4 in the second phase.
District committees and office-bearers would be elected between September 5 and 15 in the third phase. In the fourth phase, elections to the Pradesh Congress Committees and office-bearers would be conducted from September 16 to October 15, Mr. Muniyappa said.