HYDERABAD: The Congress is getting its act together to face the municipal elections, though it is not very confident of posting an impressive performance. For the record, they exude confidence of winning but inwardly they are worried about the unethical practices which they allege the TRS would use to gain an upper hand.
TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy says, "Even though the TRS has done its best to prevent us from finding right candidates by finalising reservation of wards just a few hours before the issue of notification for civic body elections, we have taken it by our stride. We are going to win a majority number of the ULBs."
But the Congress leaders, in private talk, are worried if they would be able to win a respectable number of municipalities or corporations. "We cannot match KCR in money. Already they are offering Rs 5,000 per vote," a senior leader of the party said, wondering how they should address this problem which has potential to tilt scales on the day of reckoning.
The party held several meetings at Gandhi Bhavan to forge the elusive unity among themselves to put up a better show to indicate that though it is down now, it is not out, yet. After winning three Lok Sabha seats — Nalgonda, Bhongir and Malkajgiri — the party leaders are hopeful of leveraging on the pro-Congress leanings of the electorate in these segments for shoring up the party’s prospects in civic body elections.
In the eight Lok Sabha constituencies — Zaheerabad, Mahabubabad, Medak, Nagarkurnool, Peddapalli, Warangal, Chevella and Khammam — the party ended runners-up, losing the seats to TRS. The leaders hope the voters who had supported the Congress nominees in these constituencies would back the party in the municipal elections too.
The party is mainly concentrating on local issues and the promises that the TRS government had not kept. One leader said that they would focus on unemployment dole that was promised to the youth which remained elusive till now and the lack of any development in most of the towns.
"The TRS' priority is to stay in power rather serving the people," the leader said, adding that they would go to town with an appeal to the people not to trust the TRS since it had not done anything for any town in the State.
In urban and semi urban areas, the party is wondering whether it could bank on minorities by reiterating its stand against the CAA and NRC. "Though local issues play out, Congress’ opposition to the CAA and NRC would have influence on the voters," Congress working president Ponnam Prabhakar says.