MSR unanimously elected PCC president

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, NOV. 26. Mr. M. Satyanarayana Rao was unanimously elected president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) here on Sunday. His was the only nomination to be received by the Pradesh Returning Officer (PRO), Ms. Kumudben Joshi, till 1 p.m, when the nominations closed for the election of PCC president slated for tomorrow.

Ms. Joshi, after the scrutiny of the nominations, declared Mr. Rao elected unopposed. She told presspersons that 76 sets of nomination papers were filed proposing and seconding the candidature of Mr. Rao.

There was no other nomination. Therefore, she declared Mr. Rao elected and expressed the hope that under his leadership the party would get strengthened in the State.

Mr. Rao thanked partymen for reposing faith in his leadership. He also thanked Ms. Sonia Gandhi, party president.

Sixty-six-year-old Mr. Satyanarayana Rao, who was a Member of Parliament from 1971 to 1985 and hails from Karimnagar district, was appointed APCC president in place of Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on May 25 this year. Dr. Reddy was replaced consequent to his election as leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP).

Mr. Rao has now been elected by PCC delegates who constituted the electoral college. Under the amended constitution of the party, the term of office of the elected PCC president is three years.

Mr. Rao said the agitation against the power tariff hike consumed three months of his stint as PCC president. Now that he had been formally elected to the post, he would chalk out new programmes to strengthen the party. He would announce what he intended to do at a meeting of PCC delegates tomorrow.

The election of four vice-presidents, a treasurer and 41 executive members is due but Ms. Joshi was silent on the election schedule for these posts. Also, the Pradesh Election Authority is required to complete the election of the Pradesh Election Committee and DCC presidents.

Interestingly, the election took place notwithstanding the resolution adopted at an earlier meeting of PCC delegates on November 12 authorising the Congress president to choose the new PCC president. Apparently, the Central Election Authority chairperson, Mr. Ramniwas Mirdha, insisted on the election process being gone through in all States.

Earlier in the day, senior leaders including former Chief Ministers, Mr. Kotla Vijayabhaskara Reddy, Mr. N. Janardhan Reddy, Mr. N. Bhaskara Rao, former Union Ministers, Mr. P. Shiv Shankar, Mr. G. Venkataswamy, Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, former PCC presidents including Mr. K. Rosaiah, and others assembled in Gandhi Bhavan and filed nomination papers on behalf of Mr. Rao.

Mr. D. Nagender, city MLA, Mrs. G. Aruna, MLA and A.P. Mahila Congress president, Mr. P. Sudhakar Reddy (AP Youth Congress) Mrs. Panabaka Laxmi, ex-MP and Mr. G. Rudraraju (NSUI) were among those who filed the papers.

There was a near-stampede in the committee room where Ms. Joshi received the nomination papers.

The PRO said she was glad to receive full cooperation from party functionaries in the conduct of the election.

Party workers celebrated Mr. Rao's election by bursting crackers. They garlanded Mr. Rao and Ms. Kumudben Joshi and distributed sweets.

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