AICC bars second term for DCC chiefs, sets new eligibility rules

According to AICC in-charge Telangana Meenakshi Natarajan and Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has issued guidelines for the election of new District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents; It prohibited incumbent presidents from seeking a second term and set eligibility requirements aimed at ensuring discipline and inclusivity within the organization.

According to the instructions of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and organizer KC Venugopal, only those who have served the party continuously and with discipline for at least five years will be eligible to apply. While relatives of public representatives will be made ineligible, priority will be given to leaders from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Backward Classes (BC), minorities and women.

The instructions were conveyed by Ms. Natarajan and Mr. Mahesh Kumar during the virtual meeting with DCC chairmen on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. The duo warned that those who fail to meet the eligibility norms will be disqualified by the AICC observers.

They also stated that there should be no personal meetings or meetings with AICC observers and that district meetings should be held only in party offices or publicly accessible venues and not in private residences or offices of local leaders.

The party leadership attributed the DCC restructuring to the ongoing ‘choir of votes’ campaign in which each village committee must collect at least 100 voter signatures as part of a mass contact programme.

Mr Goud said the new DCC chairmen would be given a greater organizational role and would be invited as special guests to Central Electoral Committee (CEC) meetings.

AICC observers, including former Chief Minister N. Narayanaswamy, former Union Minister CP Joshi, senior leaders including CWC members, MPs and MLAs, have already started touring the districts to monitor the election process.