Hyderabad: The Congress has left the field to the YSR Congress and the Telugu Desam in Seemandhra. The Congress, which was struggling for existence in Seemandhra, doubted if it would even find representation in the Assembly of the new AP. According to APCC leaders, in almost seven Assembly segments the Congress candidates have put up a stiff fight. Former PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana (Cheepurupalli), Kanna Laxminarayana (Guntur West), Dronam Raju Srinivas (Visakhapatnam South), Malladi Vishnu (Vijayawada Central), Kotla Sujatha (Don), Ramana Kumari (Visakhapatnam West), Sudhakar Babu (Madakasira) have fought hard, but the Congress is not sure of winning any of the seats. The APCC wants at least to win one or two seats for representation in the new Assembly. But the other Congress candidates were not even visible. In some polling booths, the Congress did not even have agents.
The YSRC and the TD sidelined the Congress and fought each other. After the decision on state bifurcation, the Congress position has changed in both the regions. The Congress high command has never expected the party to win in Seemandhra. But it has a lot of expectations in Telangana. The only relief for the Congress in Telangana is that its main rival the TRS is also not confident of getting a full majority to form the government on its own. The predictions of a ‘hung Assembly’ in Telangana is a blessing in disguise for the Congress.
The APCC Congress leaders accused former Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and other leaders who quit the party for the situation in Seemandhra. The Congress leaders believe that after the results there will once again be migrations from the TD. They believe that those who joined the TD before elections may return to the Congress and the YSRC. In Telangana, the Congress leaders did not utilise the opportunity gicen by the party after granting statehood to Telangana. Despite being in power at the Centre and announcing statehood for Telangana, having fulfilled a 60-year-old dream of the Telangana people, the Congress leaders failed to win over the people.
Even before the elections, APCC president N. Raghuveera Reddy said they are planning for 2019 general elections to return to power. The Congress leaders believe that by 2019 elections between the YSRC and TD only the party that comes to power in this elections will remain while the other will disappear.
