Tie-up with TDP a blunder, feel some Congress leaders

Former Union minister Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy, however, opined that Telangana sentiment has yet again worked in the elections and it has nothing to do with the alliance between the Congress and TDP.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu during an election campaign at Jubilee Hill assembly constituency in Hyderabad on 3 December 2018. (File Photo | EPS)

VIJAYAWADA: The near whitewash of the Congress-TDP combine in Telangana Assembly elections has left the leaders of the grand old party in Andhra Pradesh tight-lipped on what will be the impact of the people’s verdict on the party in the State in the next elections. 

However, some senior Congress leaders were of the view that it was a blunder on the part of the party leadership to align with the TDP in Telangana Assembly elections and the results were obvious. 
“If not for the alliance with the TDP, the election results perhaps would have been different. At least not this massive defeat,” observed a senior Congress leader. 

Another leader pointed out that during the election campaign, the party leaders had failed to properly project what the Congress did to the people of Telangana and only focused on vilification of Telangana Rashtra Samithi. “Perhaps, we were overconfident in our approach in Telangana. It is time for introspection and we have to rework our strategy,” said former Union minister MM Pallam Raju. However, he was quick to point out that the party achieved success in three States, which indicated that people trust Congress and want a change.

Former Union minister Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy, however, opined that Telangana sentiment has yet again worked in the elections and it has nothing to do with the alliance between the Congress and TDP. The alliance between the two parties is at the national level and not at the regional level, he made it clear. 
Since there is no official poll pact between the Congress and TDP in Andhra Pradesh, there may not be any adverse impact on the party’s prospects in the next elections, observed some senior leaders, who left the party. 

Commenting on APCC chief N Raghuveera Reddy’s recent indication about Congress alliance in the State in the 2019 elections, a senior party leader said due to lack of cadre for the party to contest the elections on its own in a full-fledged manner, it is imperative for it to have a pact. 

“But, with whom the alliance will be and to what extent, it will be decided by the Congress high command in the coming days,” the leader was quick to add.