Mahesh Kumar Goud appointed Telangana PCC chief

HYDERABAD: Mahesh Kumar Goud has been appointed as the new president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC).

The Congress leadership officially announced on Friday, ending Revanth Reddy's term as PCC chief.

Mahesh Kumar Goud has been serving as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) and a member of the PCC election committee in 2023. He holds the position of working president in the Telangana Congress.

The selection of the new PCC chief was competitive, with several senior Congress leaders, such as Madhu Yaskhi Goud, Jeevan Reddy, Jagga Reddy, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, and Addanki Dayakar, vying for the role. However, Mahesh Kumar Goud, a close associate of Revanth Reddy, was ultimately chosen for the position. While the internal decision was made two weeks ago, the Congress leadership made the announcement only today.

Mahesh Kumar Goud was born on 24 February 1966 in Rahatnagar, Bhimgal Mandal, Nizamabad district. He completed his degree from Giriraj College. His political journey began during his student years when he served as the state secretary of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). He later became the district president of NSUI Nizamabad in 1986 and worked as the national secretary of the Indian Youth Congress.

Goud first contested elections in 1994 from Dichpally constituency but lost. Between 2013 and 2014, he served as the chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Warehousing Corporation. In 2014, he contested from Nizamabad Urban but faced another defeat.

Mahesh Kumar Goud has held several key positions within the Congress, including PCC Secretary, Spokesperson, and General Secretary. In 2018, he was expected to contest again from Nizamabad Urban, but the seat was allotted to a minority candidate. He continued his role in Congress and became the convener of the party’s manifesto committee for the 2018 state elections.

In 2021, Goud was appointed as PCC's Working President; in 2022, he was given a Special Invitee role in the Congress Political Affairs Committee. By June 2023, he had joined the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) election committee.

In 2023, Goud was planning to contest from Nizamabad Urban again, but he withdrew after Shabbir Ali was chosen for the seat. Instead, the Congress Party nominated him for the MLC elections under the MLA quota. Mahesh Kumar Goud was unanimously elected, as no other candidates filed nominations from other parties. He took oath as a member of the Telangana Legislative Council on 31 January 2023.