Hard political games are afoot as the agitation against bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh continues and no party seems immune to this.
The Congress central leadership appears to have more or less succeeded in bulldozing its Seemandhra MPs, including union ministers, a majority of whom have fallen silent in the wake of the Cabinet approval for formation of Telangana.
It is unlikely that any of the ministers would press for acceptance of their resignations, though M M Pallam Raju is said to be remarking that his continuance in the Cabinet and thereby, as a member of the GoM, set up to look into issues arising out of state division, depends on what kind of assurance he gets on protecting the interests of Andhra-Rayalaseema regions. Back in the state, two episodes over the week have virtually split Congress leaders. First was the meeting held at the residence of Finance Minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, after which the participants made no secret of their disapproval of the line taken by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.
On his part, Kiran seems to believe the meeting would not have taken place without some sort of clearance from Delhi and also sees the handiwork of a couple of MPs behind it. Then came the attack on the properties of PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana, which has divided the Congressmen along caste lines.
Interestingly, BC leaders from Telangana were among the first to condemn the attacks, squarely blaming the CM and Vijayawada MP L Rajagopal for it.
Thus, the Congress leadership has managed to bring about a clear divide among its men in Andhra-Rayalaseema regions.