NEW DELHI: Dominance of upper Caste candidates and a un mistakable rebuff to potential challengers of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s leadership stance ‘Out as two outstanding features of the Congress list for current biennial election
The Congress high command’: announcement last week that i would field Jitendra Prasad front UP Sitaram Kasri and Jagannau Mistra from Bihar Ramji Lal front Haryana and V. Kishore Chandr Deo for the fourth seat in Andhra Pradesh has put an end to speculations about enteria Narasimha Rao would adopt for selecting party nominees in the critical Rajys Sabha elections being held immediately after assembly elections in five states The Panty had announced the names of 21 candidates last Thursday.
The Congress list of 25 candidates had three Muslims five scheduled castes and tribes representatives and four OBC and 13 members from the upper castes including 7 Brahmins.
A high priest surrounded by five fundamentalist Brahmins is how a senior Congress Leader from Andhra Pradesh described Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and his coterie the remark could have been dismissed as a cynic’s ribalk Joke. But Rao’s choice of pany nominees for ensuring Rajya Sabha biennials would seem to give it a ring of truth.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 28, 1994
