Congress to face a tough battle in Telangana

NEW DELHI: The Congress in Telangana is struggling to put its unit in order as several leaders in the state claim that the party does not even have the momentum to try to get better numbers in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Besides the low momentum within the party, the party is also wrestling with the public perception that if Congress candidates are voted, they may again switch over to other parties. AICC national coordinator OBC department and ex- MLA Prof Venkat Swami said, “I don’t have any electoral ambitions and I won’t care after the government is formed. I just want the party to do good and win, and it is completely possible for Congress to win the elections because there is anti-incumbency and people are ready to vote for the Congress. However, neither is there any preparation being made on the ground for that, nor is the state leadership serious about winning the elections.”
He further added, “In a recent meeting with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, not even one OBC leader was given chance to speak and that sends a wrong message. That sends a message that our state leadership is not inclusive. A state which has more than 50% OBC population is not giving enough space to OBC leaders to represent them. It means you are intentionally blocking their votes towards the Congress. How will we be able to reach out to the major chunk of electorate when OBC leaders are not given importance and they are not being heard?”
Multiple sources said that there is a rumour going around that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may take over Telangana and be its in-charge. However, a leader close to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “There is low possibility of her being the Telangana in-charge.” Moreover, a large section of the state leadership believes that she doesn’t know much about the state and also the recent speeches she made in Telangana have not been powerful enough to stir the electorate, compared to how she spoke in Karnataka. Political analysts on the ground in Karnataka said that the message among the masses went well when she spoke and may have helped turn around the public mood in Karnataka. However, the leaders in Telangana lament that this was not the case with the speech in Telangana.
A political analyst said, “Currently, there are low chances for Congress to get more than 15 seats and yet, if she takes over and is able to mobilise the cadre and get the party more than 20 seats, she will subsequently take the credit for that. But if the whole point is about taking credit, she should then take charge of a Hindi state like Chhattisgarh, which we may win with a handsome margin, to better her image.”
Also, there are indications from the senior leaders at the centre that the top leadership knows that they may not be able to make any large cut in the Assembly elections in Telangana and thus, they may not focus whole-heartedly in the state. A Congress leader said, “The top leadership had put its focus on Karnataka as it already had great chances of winning. Moreover, the state has two popular leaders in D.K. Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah who had added to the party’s prospects. In Telangana, we have no recognized leader like them. Plus, there are no efforts from the central leadership to groom a new leadership in the state. These are the prerequisites to win the elections and when these are not in place, how can we win?”