Two senior Telangana Congress leaders- former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ponnal Lakshmaiah and former Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha squatted on the steps of Gandhi Bhavan, on Monday, October 17, protesting over a voter's name being missed in the All India Congress Committee (AICC) presidential elections voters' list. The leaders alleged that one of the PCC delegates from Jangaon Assembly constituency who was issued a voter ID card was denied a vote in the presidential poll as his name did not figure in the electorate list.
"They say your name was struck down. You do not have the right to vote. Is this not an insult? On what basis the name was removed (from the voters list)?" Raja Narasimha questioned. They are not giving any reasons and after issuing a card the name was removed, he further alleged. He said the Returning Officer should answer the question.
Meanwhile, polling was underway in Telangana for the AICC presidential election at Gandhi Bhavan, the state Congress headquarters in Hyderabad, on Monday.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi cast their votes in the AICC headquarters in Delhi this morning. Speaking to the reporters there, she said that she had been waiting for this day for a long time. Voting began on October 17 as senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor faced off for the post of AICC chief. Over 9000 PCC delegates will form the electoral college that will elect the next Congress President.
Voting began at 10 am at the AICC headquarters in Delhi. Even though Tharoor has claimed that there is an unfair playing field, both the candidates and the party have made it clear that there is no “official candidate”.