Telangana Congress ‘Comeback Effort’ Must For halting Collapse in the state despite poor performance, groupism, internal fights and anti-incumbency in the leadership.
At the federal level, there is little doubt that the Congress is in disarray. In Telangana, it is in no better shape. The state of affairs at this point makes it unclear whether the party would be considered a major political force even at the local level.
Many believe that the primary cause of the party’s two consecutive defeats in the Assembly elections of 2014 and 2018 was its dubious involvement in the establishment of Telangana State. Going by the party’s eclipse in many states where it had been in power for decades, the fate of the Congress in the 2023 elections appears to be set. To at least partially reclaim lost territory, the Congress would need to successfully contain the BJP’s expanding influence in Telangana while contending with the strength of the TRS.
People in the impacted areas continue to suffer because Telangana was formed without including all of the members of the AP state Assembly that was not divided. They are resentful that the process used to separate Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh into the states of Jharkhand, Uttaranchal (later known as Uttarakhand), and Chhattisgarh, respectively, was not followed, particularly in regards to the adoption of a unanimous resolution by the relevant Houses.
The former Atal Behari Vajpayee-led NDA government at the federal level created this regulation. Telangana separation demands were made at that time, but NDA leaders rejected them because there was not a consensus resolution in support of Telangana. N. Chandrababu Naidu, the then-chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, who opposed the division of the state, gave a warning that led to the NDA’s rejection. After that, Parliament decided to split Andhra Pradesh even though a unanimous vote was required.
This also created an impression that unanimous resolutions adopted by Assemblies in States could be scuttled in Parliament as per the whims and fancies of ruling parties. Since majority of people, at least in the Andhra region of the undivided AP, had opposed bifurcation; the Congress party became a villain upon creation of Telangana.
Telangana’s populace instinctively placed their trust in K Chandrasekhar Rao. Congress officials believed incorrectly that Telangana’s creation would be solely credited to the grand old party. Currently, the Congress is not in the mindset to take part in the next by-elections for the Munugode Assembly seat. It may be difficult for the party to hold onto the seat by defeating the BJP and TRS after the departures of its prominent leaders. Given that both are competitors on a national level, it must manage BJP’s impact. If the BJP wins the Munugode seat, the Congress will also experience consequences on a national scale.
It will be interesting to see whether the Congress tries to retain its seat or help TRS in controlling BJP as BJP’s candidate Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy is having enormous money power to influence the electorate! TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy has gone on record that nothing would happen to the Congress if it fails to retain the Munugode seat. His detractors have described those comments as plain admission of the party’s inability to face the bye-elections.
The next Assembly elections will now be the focus of the Congress. The party’s TS unit is optimistic that it will once again win the public’s support, opening the door for the party’s resurgence at the national level. For this reason, the party intends to send Rahul Gandhi on a padayatra through Telangana. Given that Telangana was granted statehood by the Congress party against all odds, this could help the party capitalise on the sympathy factor. If the Congress can put on a strong performance in the next Assembly elections, it will act as a boost for the party seeking to recapture its former national prominence. #Khabarlive #hydnews #hyderabadlive #hyderabadi
