With consecutive poll defeats, Congress in Telangana is on a sickbed

It is surprising that the Congress is still unable to come to a decision as to who should lead the party to develop it into a force to be reckoned with.
TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy (File Photo | PTI)
TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy (File Photo | PTI)

No green shoots are visible in Telangana Congress. After suffering an ignominious defeat in the Assembly elections in 2018, the party surprised everyone by winning three Lok Sabha seats in May, 2019, but thereafter, the rise in its fortunes has been more like a dead-cat bounce, unable to sustain.

The smaller elections that followed -- village panchayats, ZPTCs, MPTCs, municipal and cooperative societies -- have proved that the party was once again sinking into oblivion.

No one envies the Congress' position now. It squandered a great opportunity immediately after the bifurcation of the State in 2014 as it was the Congress that granted statehood to Telangana. But it proved to be no match to the Machiavellian strategies of TRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao in the elections.

The Congress had hoped it would ride to power in the State as it had granted statehood to Telangana, fully aware of the fact that it would be washed out in Andhra Pradesh. Its hope was dashed in TS while in AP, the party saw no different than what it had expected.

Even after being battered by the TRS owing to lack of coordination among the leaders, some sections in the electorate still have a soft corner for the party. But the grand old party does not seem to be in a position to convert their feelings into electoral gains. Now that there are no elections in sight till 2023, it is likely that the Congress, which has already become a lame duck, might remain that way.

In Telangana, Congress used to enjoy the support of the minorities, who are about 12 per cent, but now, the TRS and AIMIM have been making deep forays into this constituency, leaving practically nothing for the grand old party to capture. The Dalits, who are about 17 per cent, remain a disgruntled lot unable to trust either the BJP or the TRS.

They do not find anything inspiring in the Congress to turn to. The party could not even build movements on the unfulfilled promise of KCR that he would provide three acres of land to each family belonging to Dalit community.

The Congress, having realised that it has nothing to write home about as far as their attempts in identifying itself with Dalits is concerned, is now trying to use the Supreme Court order that pointed out that SCs, STs and OBCs cannot claim reservations as a matter of right.

A few leaders in the party made feeble noises to win the hearts of the Dalits. After a dharna at Indira Park and a few statements, the movement has lost its steam. The leaders remain prisoners to their age-old beliefs, not realising that optics are a sine qua non for a politician to build his/her persona and earn the trust of the people.

It is surprising that the Congress is still unable to come to a decision as to who should lead the party to develop it into a force to be reckoned with. The incumbent N Uttam Kumar Reddy has already submitted his resignation, but the party is yet to act on it. He, having been elected to Lok Sabha from Nalgonda, wants to play a role in the party at the national level.

Then there are A Revanth Reddy, J Geetha Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy waiting in the wings. Revanth Reddy, though having an appeal among the youth and Andhras who have settled in Hyderabad for his anti-KCR stand, always sticks out a like sour thumb as he does not mix with the rest of the Congress crowd. Komatireddy fits the bill if the national leadership decides to have an original leader at the helm of the party rather than the one who has been imported from TDP.

As Rahul Gandhi is all set to become the president of AICC once again as the present incumbent and his mother Sonia Gandhi is only an interim chief, it is said that till then, the Telangana Congress would remain in a state of limbo.

It looks like the party has lost the most important trait a warrior should have: That one has to become the war itself to win a war. To vanquish KCR, the Congress should have a warrior more powerful than him. In the present circumstances, no one meets the daunting requirement.

In Telangana, Congress used to enjoy the support of the minorities, who constitute about 12 per cent, but now, the TRS and AIMIM have been making deep forays into this constituency, leaving practically nothing for the grand old party to capture

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com