Senior Congress leader D Srinivas, who faced a drubbing from a relatively new player Yendala Laxminarayana (BJP) twice in 2009 and 2012 from Nizamabad Urban Assembly constituency when the Telangana movement was at its peak, is now expecting the tide to change in his favour with the change of constituency. The two-time PCC president is now in the fray from Nizamabad Rural Assembly constituency and is facing a stiff fight from Bajireddy Govardhan Reddy, who quit the YSRC to join TRS a day before his name was announced as the pink party’s nominee for the constituency. Srinivas believes that his party’s decision to concede Telangana, coupled with his experience in public life, will place him in good stead as against his rivals.
In midst of his campaign, Express caught up with the visibly tired leader who shared his thoughts on various issues as he toured his constituency braving the sweltering heat.
You are one of the leaders among who convinced your party president Sonia Gandhi to concede Telangana by assuring her of good prospects in the region. However, the situation does not seem to be in your favor. What has upset your calculations?
Yes, our opponents have now taken the advantage of the Telangana issue. This is because of the confusion created by the former chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy by throwing spanners in the works of the Congress. He tried to stick his nose into the issue when the CWC was taking a decision. But it is a fact that Sonia Gandhi and the Congress have granted Telangana State and I am sure, with the recent visits of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the party’s prospects have boosted. We will certainty form the government in the state.
It is believed that the Congress, after granting Telangana, has sidelined some senior leaders in the region including you, especially during the appointment of TPCC president? What do you have to say about this?
Whatever goodwill I have earned with the Congress is still intact. There should not be any doubt that I am sidelined. I am a humble Congress soldier and would abide by the decision of my party high command.
What is the reason behind changing your constituency after your successive defeats in 2009 and 2012? What are winning chances in Nizamabad Rural Assembly segment?
This should not be seen as shifting to another constituency because I have been winning from here. In fact, in 2009 too I was actually expecting to contest from this segment. Then, I was in dilemma whether to contest for Assembly or parliament and in the end I zeroed in on Nizamabad Urban segment. As far as my rival from TRS is concerned, he is known for his anti-Telangana activities and in fact he switched over to TRS from YSRC a day before his name was announced as the TRS nominee. People are in my favour as they believe an experienced leader would be better than a novice.
Don’t you think lack of aggressive campaigning from your party has failed to drive home the point that the Congress had accorded statehood status to Telangana? Why do you think people will prefer Congress to TRS in relation to the Telangana issue?
Yes, to some extent. But there was hardly any time because the party was caught up in appointing the PCC chief, work related to bifurcation and its approval in Parliament. Also, with all elections including local polls taking place one after the other, we had a tough time. But, I am sure people will express their gratitude to the Congress for conceding Telangana.
