The appointment of Meenakshi Natarajan as the new in-charge for the Telangana Congress, in place of Deepa Das Munshi, by the party high command is creating a stir among the state Congress leaders. Many felt that Meenakshi Natarajan, a key leader in Rahul Gandhi’s core team, is being sent to Telangana only to curb the unilateral affairs of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
This appointment is interesting in the context of recent reports that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi have not been willing to meet Revanth Reddy personally. There is an opinion that Deepa Das Munshi, who is currently in-charge, is not acting strictly in Telangana Congress affairs.
Meenakshi Natarajan will soon take charge as the Telangana in-charge. It is expected that key changes will take place in Telangana Congress with Meenakshi’s arrival. Meenakshi Natarajan, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, has been working from the grassroots level in the Congress party.
She has held various positions in affiliated organizations like NSUI and Youth Congress and also held key positions in AICC. In 2009, Meenakshi contested the Lok Sabha elections from Mandsaur from Madhya Pradesh and won a landslide victory over her opponent. But she was defeated later in two successive elections.
She has served in Congress as NSUI national president, Youth Congress state president, and AICC secretary. Moreover, she has been recognized as a key member of Rahul Gandhi’s core team. Deep Das Munshi, who has been in charge till now, is looking after two states, Kerala and Telangana.
It is said that this key decision was taken by the high command after receiving allegations that Deepa Das was not able to pay special attention to Telangana and some other complaints. Senior Congress leaders in Telangana, who are especially impatient with Revanth Reddy’s dominance, are expressing their dissatisfaction with her.
It is learnt that many have complained against Deepa Das Munshi, saying that she is not meeting them, not even answering their phones and insulting them. There are allegations that she is doing as Revanth Reddy tells her. Some state leaders have taken Deepa Das Munshi to the attention of the high command, fearing that her behavior could damage the party.
With this, Deepa Das Munshi has been confined to Kerala and a leader from Rahul Gandhi’s core team has been appointed as the in-charge for the state. It is likely to be a challenge for Revanth Reddy to coordinate with the new leader, as for the last one year he is unable to expand his cabinet and also failing to appoint the PCC executive committee.