Congress keeps chopper, camp ready to thwart poaching

HYDERABAD: Congress is likely to airlift Praja Kutami candidates and prospective independents in case of a fractured verdict on Tuesday. It has reportedly made arrangements to this effect. The move to keep the flock together and prevent possible poaching by rival parties comes after its bitter experience in government formation in Goa and Meghalaya earlier this year.
A chopper has been kept on standby at a secret location in neighbouring Karnataka. Minister D K Shiva Kumar, who was the party’s troubleshooter and a key person in putting the JDS-Congress combine in the saddle in Karnataka, has been given the responsibility of organizing the ‘camp’ for likely winners from Kutami, who might be either shifted to Bengaluru or any other location in Karnataka, if the situation arises.
Congress has issued instructions to Kutami candidates to observe trends and reach a star hotel in Hyderabad. They have been reportedly told to authorise local leaders to collect the winning certificate, but they should start for Hyderabad as soon as the trends indicates a clear victory for them.

CLP meeting might be conducted after 5pm, wherein the winning candidates are likely to pass a unanimous resolution authorising Congress president Rahul Gandhi to pick the chief minister.
“Even prospective Kutami MLAs have been invited to attend the CLP meeting. Though Congress is confident that the Kutami will comfortably cross the magic mark, 60, to form the government, all arrangements are being made as a precautionary measure in case the mandate is fractured and results in a hung house,” a senior Congress leader, who is making arrangements at the star hotel for the prospective MLAs, told TOI.
Apart from Karnataka minister Shiva Kumar, AICC leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel and Jairam Ramesh would fly down to Hyderabad, if the trends indicate a fractured verdict, sources said. “Already, Shiva Kumar and other Congress leaders are in touch with Congress rebel candidates, who entered the fray as independents or as nominees of other parties,” the senior leader added.