Following the resignation of senior Congress leader N Raghuveera Reddy as the chief of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), the post has been lying vacant for quite some time. Rumours are rife that two-time Union minister M Mangapati Pallam Raju might be given the charge as the new president of the APCC.
Though there has been no official announcement from the AICC about the PCC chief appointment sources say that there is a big chance for this development.
Pallam Raju belongs to the Kapu community and is known to be a suave politician. Sources in the party said that apart from Pallam Raju, names of Chinta Mohan, Sake Sailajanath, and former Mahila Congress State chief Sunkara Padmasri are also under consideration. However, a final announcement is likely to be made after the Congress Working Committee meeting, expected to be held between August 8 and 10.
Pallam Raju who hails from Pitapuram in East Godavari belongs to Kapu community. He successfully contested as an MP from Kakinada Lok Sabha segment in 1989, 2004 and 2009 elections. He was a close associate of prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and served as Union minister of state for HRD. He also worked as Union minister for defence in the Cabinet led by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.