Congress deputes army of Karnataka leaders —10 ministers, 34 MLAs, 12 MLCs — to boost Telangana campaign

Telangana, the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) has appointed “cluster In-charges” and “constituency observers” for the 30 November Assembly election — an indication that it is leaving nothing to chance in a contest the party now senses it has a chance of winning.

Interestingly, all those appointed by AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal on Saturday, 4 November, are from neighbouring Karnataka.

All the 10 cluster in-charges appointed are ministers; of the 48 constituency observers, 34 are MLAs and 12 are MLCs. The remaining comprise a former MLC, and a working president of the party.

All of them are leaders who can take credit for being part of the team that led the Congress to a thumping victory in the May Assembly elections in Karnataka — and are currently playing key roles in the state government.

10 cluster in-charges appointed are: Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao; IT&BT Minister Priyank Kharge; Minister for Higher Education MC Sudhakar; Minister for Medical Education Sharan Prakash Patil; Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs KH Muniyappa; Minister of Revenue Krishna Byre Gowda; Minister for Backward Class Development, and Kannada and Culture Department Shivaraj S Tangadagi; Minister of Housing Department BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan; Minister for Environment and Forest Eshwara Khandre; and Minister of Youth and Sports B Nagendra.

The 48 constituency observers appointed will each focus on individual segments.

Of these, 13 Scheduled Caste (SC) reserved constituencies, four are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs), with the remaining 31 constituencies falling in the general category.