HYDERABAD: The present crisis in the Telangana Congress could not have come at a worse time. The party is already facing a threat to its existence with the BJP fast emerging as the main opposition, pushing the Congress to the fringes. There are now two groups in the State Congress fighting each other, losing sight of the important events ahead of them in January — the conclusion of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and the commencement of TPCC president A Revanth Reddy’s Yatra on January 26.
The party cadre, who are hoping that the party would get a new lease of life and emerge as a force to challenge the BRS in the State, are worried that the party may let yet another historic opportunity slip through its fingers.
In their anxiety to gain the upper hand, both the factions seem to have overlooked the need to take up people’s issues and remain visible to them as elections are hardly a year away. The revamping of the TPCC and its affiliated committees only served to widen the chasm between the two groups which are busy trying to prove their point before the party’s national leadership.
There is a widespread feeling among the party leaders that the recent ruckus over “migrants” being given priority over the natives was only intended to thwart the Revanth faction getting away with making appointments to six positions which are still pending with the AICC following intense lobbying by both the sides. The party deferred a decision on these posts till the conclusion of the Parliament session and yet the faction opposed to Revanth Reddy raised a storm.
Unhappy seniors
The six key slots yet to be filled are: DCC presidents for Sangareddy, Suryapet, Bhupalpally, Secunderabad, Rangareddy and Jangaon districts. A key source of the AICC office said that the appointments to all the committees were made after consulting the seniors and yet after the list was released there was a hullabaloo over injustice being done to the ‘native’ Congress leaders.
The seniors are also unhappy over Revanth Reddy’s yatra getting clearance from the AICC as they are afraid he would steal a march over them with his latest initiative. One leader who did not like Revanth embarking on the yatra had instigated the others into a public revolt against the party’s State leadership, to take the wind out of Revanth’s sails.
There are, however, saner voices in the party which advocate that the two groups should bury the hatchet and work shoulder-to-shoulder to get the party back into reckoning. They argue that it is time for them to focus on the enemy outside to come to power.
The party had lost the opportunity to come to power twice and if it lets the third one also go by, then there would be no future for the party. While the Congress leaders are busy fighting among themselves, the BRS and the BJP are fighting each other to edge the Congress out. If the infighting continues like this, the BJP would surely emerge as the main opposition to the BRS.
SANER VOICES
There are, however, saner voices in the party which advocate that the two groups should bury the hatchet and work shoulder-to-shoulder to get the party back into reckoning. The party had lost the opportunity to come to power twice and if it lets the third one also go by, then there would be no future for the party.