Congress poaches Sarpanches with cash and development grants in Mancherial

After suffering a setback in the Gram Panchayat elections in the erstwhile Adilabad district, the Congress is reportedly attempting damage control by wooing winning sarpanches with cash offers and development promises, particularly in the Chennur Assembly constituency.

Mancherial: The Congress, which suffered a blow in the gram panchayat elections in the erstwhile Adilabad district, is trying to control the damage by wooing winning Sarpanches.

The party’s leaders, particularly in the Chennur Assembly constituency, are reportedly poaching candidates who registered victories in the polls by offering cash of Rs.5 lakh and promising development works worth Rs.20 lakh each if they join the Congress. They are approaching the candidates through their close aides and supporters to attract them.

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The leaders are said to be obstructing Independents from attending BRS meetings. They are staying in touch with the winners over the phone and enticing them to accept the offer and become partners in the development of their respective villages. They are leaving no stone unturned to divert the newly elected sarpanchs towards the ruling party.

Labour Minister and Chennur MLA Dr G Vivek drew flak for failing to select the right candidates in several villages in the elections, resulting in a setback to the party. He is allegedly using inducements to cover up his errors while fielding candidates and to protect his image before the top leadership of the party, which is learnt to be upset with him.

Activists of the Congress are already unhappy with Vivek for being unable to control the domination of two upper-caste leaders in the party’s affairs in Chennur. The two leaders played a vital role in choosing candidates for the gram panchayat elections, affecting the results and shocking many. They are accused of collecting money from certain sarpanch candidates.

While Congress-backed candidates won in 70 villages, BRS-supported candidates registered victories in over 30 villages.