Botsa Satyanarayana Likely to be APCC Chief

AP Transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana is likely to be made PCC chief in place of D Srinivas. Though the chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy also proposed other names of Union minister of state for defence, Mr M.M. Pallam Raju, housing minister, Mr Kanna Laxminarayana, and the former minister Mr Shabbir Ali for the job, it is Botsa's name that is prominently heard in the party circles. It is said that the new state Congress affairs incharge, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, had a round of talks with the party president,
Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and Mr Ahmed Patel regarding the selection of the new PCC chief and an announcement is likely to be out in a week's time.

The AICC, which normally discourages leaders close to the Chief Minister from heading the party unit especially in AP where the party has had bitter past experiences with such dispensations, believes that an independent man loyal to the AICC will be more useful to party. Preference will also be for a leader belonging to the backward Kapu section. In such a case, Mr Botsa Satyanarayana, who hails from north coastal AP and is a BC Kapu, appears to be a prime candidate for the PCC chief’s post. His candidature is also being supported by the outgoing PCC chief, Mr D. Srinivas, Union petroleum minister, Mr S. Jaipal Reddy, and other leaders. Mr Botsa also confirmed that his name was doing the rounds but said that it was the prerogative of the AICC to choose their man.

Mr Gulam Nabi Azad will visit the state by the end of this month as he will be busy for the next few days on account of the Assembly results in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Assam of which he is also in-charge and will be actively involved in the formation of governments there. He will be coming to AP after that immediately and talk to the leaders belonging to different sections and groups.