HYDERABAD: The Congress, finding itself on a weak wicket and fearing being run over by the Jagan Jaggernaut, is likely to turn to Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrasekhar Rao to bail it out in case Jagan’s YSR Congress sweeps the bypolls and desertions from the Congress legislature party take place.
Congress leaders and a section of the ministers apprehend that after the byelections for the one Lok Sabha and 18 Assembly seats, there will be serious political crisis since many MLAs might be tempted to join the Jagan camp for a better political future.
That the Congress is in a pitiable state in the state has amply been proved by the results of the byelections for seven Assembly seats held recently.
The leaders fear that there might be an encore in which case desertions into the Jagan camp will be difficult to contain. To prevent desertions, the AICC leadership should infuse confidence in the party MLAs that the party will remain in power at least till 2014.
This is where the TRS comes into the picture. In case of a crisis, the Congress government headed by Kiran Kumar Reddy will need the TRS as a crutch. The TRS has 16 members in the Assembly. The erstwhile Praja Rajyam of Chiranjeevi, which had a strength of 17 members in the House, came to the government’s rescue during voting on the no-confidence motion recently. Had it not been for it, the government would have fallen in minority and plunged into crisis.
With PRP’s support, the Kiran government managed to stave off Jagan’s threat then. Later, the PRP merged with the Congress and Chiranjeevi became the Congress’ star campaigner. The Congress is pinning hopes on him to swing Kapu votes in its favour.
Congress leaders in Delhi are in touch with Chandrasekhara Rao and have managed to persuade him not to raise the Telangana issue till the byelections are over. Rao is believed to have told the Congress leaders that he is ready to merge his party with the Congress if the party is willing to carve out Telangana state.
The other leaders of TRS are also aware that their has been maintaining stoic silence only in deference to the request of the Congress bigwigs in Delhi.
And, the TRS is also able to lull TJAC activities to the relief of the Congress party and the government. The separaist party’s only perceptible activity at present is with regard to the Parakala byelection.