Contenders to the top post in the AP Youth Congress are indulging in heavy expenditure prior to the elections, which are slated for July 11 and 12. By doing so, they seem to be defeating the very purpose of the new concept of holding elections to the youth body envisaged by AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi. What’s more, there are serious criminal charges pending against Challa Vamsi Chand Reddy, the former NSUI president and one of the contenders to the post of AP Youth Congress president.

The other top three contestants to the post are the sons of three prominent Congress politicians from the capital, who are said to be spending lakhs of rupees in order to gain an upper hand in the polls. This is the first time that elections to organisational levels of the Youth Congress are being conducted across the country by enrolling booth-level membership and through appointment of returning officers, with the elections to be conducted through secret ballot.

Committees for booth-wise polling have already been formed across the state and five booth-level members are supposed to cast three votes to elect Assembly and Lok Sabha representatives and the state president. Whoever gets the maximum number of votes will be the president and others will get the posts of vice president and general secretary, according to the votes they secured.

Secunderabad MP Anjan Kumar Yadav’s son Anil Kumar Yadav, Serilingampally MLA Bikshapati’s son Ravi Kumar Yadav, former minister and National Disaster Management Committee vice-chairman Marri Sasidhar Reddy’s son Poorva Reddy and Mr Vamsi Reddy are now in the fray to grab the post of state Youth Congress president. This is the first time in the history of the Youth Congress that such an event is taking place.

Mr Gandhi was of the view that there be a data base of Youth Congress members and that elections be held in a democratic manner to weed out criminals and sycophants. This is something unusual in a party where hitherto all the posts were being filled by persons nominated by state and central bodies on the recommendation of MPs and MLAs.

Complaints have already gone to the Central election authorities about the validity of Mr Vamsi Reddy’s nomination for the top post as he was expelled by the then PCC president D. Srinivas for his alleged involvement in criminal offences like arson, looting etc in 2010. At that time too, some TV channels had exposed an alleged conspiracy with Reliance Industries in the death of Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, based on a story in a Russian magazine.

Though cases (FIR 25/ 2010 Sanjeeva Reddynagar PS) are still pending against him, the suspension order was revoked by Mr Srinivas himself. Almost all the contenders to the top posts are said to be involved in corrupt practices, like spending huge sums of money to lure the ‘voters’ and offering sops to them, like trips to Goa, cell phones, laptops and so on. “Until now, Youth Congress leaders used to learn about corruption after being nominated. Now, with the latest election system introduced, they become masters of it much before they are all elected,” said a former Youth Congress president.