Congress can hope to stay in the race in Telangana only by ensuring unity among its leaders
Congress can hope to stay in the race in Telangana only by ensuring unity among its leaders
This time in Telangana, more energy is being spent on infighting in the Congress. Last week, Telangana Congress Committee working president and Sangareddy MLA T. Jayaprakash Reddy decided ‘Snap’ relationship With the party, because there was a “conspiracy to defame him” on social media by labeling him as a secret supporter of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The decision of Mr. Jayaprakash Reddy is not sudden, especially as Telangana Congress President A.K. Given his differences with Revanth Reddy, ever since he was chosen to lead the party in Telangana.
Sri Jayaprakash Reddy is a temperamental and an invincible party hopper. He started his career with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He shifted to TRS during separate state movement in 2004 and won as MLA. He then joined the Congress and was made the government whip. In 2014, he again switched to BJP to contest from Medak parliamentary seat. After losing, he returned to the Congress. This time, he has given himself a deadline of 15 days to quit the party and chalk out an independent political course.
TRS also created an embarrassing situation for Mr. Jayaprakash Reddy. During his visit to Sangareddy for an official event, TRS working president and IT Minister KT Rama Rao along with Mr. Jayaprakash Reddy rubbished the rumours.
dissatisfaction with the appointment
A possible meeting between Mr. Jayaprakash Reddy and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi could end the drama in the Congress, which has been on a slow revival mode in the 2018 assembly elections and after 12 out of its 18 MLAs were destroyed. Is. joined the ruling party. But it may not signal the end of the crisis in the party, which is deeply divided.
The Congress is battling a lot of resentment against the election of the President. Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, buoyed over the appointment of Sri Revanth Reddy as the president, vowed never to enter Gandhi Bhavan, the party headquarters in Hyderabad. Since then, he patched up With Sri Revanth Reddy and both often share the party stage. Earlier, his brother Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, MLA from Munugode, also raised the flag of rebellion and even said that BJP is the only option in Telangana. The promotion of Sri Revanth Reddy was also opposed by senior leaders like V. Hanumantha Rao. All these leaders were upset that Sri Revanth Reddy, a new member of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), was elected president even though he spent years working for the Congress and did not get any important post.
This infighting is taking a toll on the party’s efforts to project itself as a real alternative to the TRS. The morale of the cadre was boosted when three meetings were successful in Inderveli, Ibrahimpatnam and Gajvel (the constituency of Chief Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao) after Mr. Revanth Reddy took over. The new president has also been continuously attacking the government on various issues. He has accused the BJP of “killing the federal spirit”, “spreading religious intolerance” etc. However, his opponents call it a sensational and controversial statement. He accused them of lack of strategy and direction. After losing the 2014 and 2018 elections, the Congress cannot afford to miss the bus in the 2023 elections if it is to remain relevant in Telangana. The BJP with its recent political successes and resources in Telangana is clearly leaving no stone unturned to expand in the state. In such a situation, the Congress can hope to remain in the race only by ensuring unity among its leaders.
ravikant.ramasayam@thehindu.co.in
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