New Delhi: The people of Telangana are yearning for change and looking towards the Congress, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Tuesday after chairing a meeting of Telangana unit leaders to decide the strategy for the state polls due later this year.
The meeting, which was held at the AICC headquarters here, was attended by former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal.
During the meeting, discussions were also held on the Congress’ strategy going forward and it was made clear that there will be no alliance with Telangana’s ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS, formerly Telangana Rashtra Samithi), according to party leaders.
“People of Telangana are yearning for change. They are looking towards the Congress party,” Kharge said in a tweet after the meeting.
The Congress is ready to take on any challenge, he asserted.
“Together, we will usher a brighter future for Telangana, based on shared democratic values and all-around social welfare,” he said.
The Congress also shared on Twitter pictures of the meeting that was also attended by AICC Telangana incharge Manikrao Thakare and Telangana PCC president A Revanth Reddy, among others.
Later, addressing a press conference, Thakare said all Telangana Congress leaders attended a meeting with Kharge and Gandhi regarding the party’s poll preparedness.
“Everyone has been asked to focus on the real problems of Telangana and we will move ahead with this,” he said.
The people of Telangana are looking towards the Congress to get rid of the K Chandrashekar Rao-led BRS government, he added.
Telangana Congress campaign committee chairman Madhu Goud Yaskhi, MP Uttam Kumar Reddy, former MP V Hanumantha Rao and party leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir also addressed the media.
Yashki said Kharge and Gandhi made it clear that “there will not be any alliance with the BRS”.
“The BRS is not going to be a part of the national opposition alliance because the BRS and the BJP are together. So, there will not be any alliance with the BRS,” he said.
The Congress leaders alleged Rao has looted Telangana and provided benefits to his family instead of the state’s people.
They said during the meeting, Kharge and Gandhi asked them to bury all differences in the interest of the party and start preparing for the Telangana assembly polls.
The Congress will prepare a comprehensive programme and go door-to-door to tell people about its plans for the state, according to the party leaders.
Earlier, Venugopal said in a tweet, “Telangana is ready to defeat KCR’s feudal govt and crush the unholy alliance between BRS and BJP.”
“Telangana is just the beginning. In every village, in every town, the people are looking at the Congress with hope. All over the country, leaders with their ear to the ground are picking up this huge undercurrent in favour of the Congress and are eager to join,” he said.
Telangana came into existence on June 2, 2014. The BRS secured an absolute majority in the last assembly polls in December 2018.
The term of the 119-member Telangana Assembly will end in December.
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