After scoring a massive victory in the Telangana Assembly elections and wrenching the power from the arch-rival BRS, Congress is now shifting its focus to Andhra Pradesh. The main enemy for the Congress in AP is said to be the ruling YSRCP led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. After defeating the BRS in Telangana, Congress now wants to take on YCP in AP.
While Congress may not win seats in Andhra Pradesh, however, it is eyeing to gain its vote percentage and slowly erase the negativity the party has in the state owing to the state bifurcation. It is also said to be looking at forging any alliances in the state. More than the Assembly election, the Congress is more concerned about the Lok Sabha election. In AP the elections are going to be held simultaneously.
Key leader Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjuna Kharge, general secretary KC Venugopal and state in charge Manickam Tagore will be meeting the state leaders tomorrow to discuss the party’s strategy and plan of action in the coming polls. The meeting’s main agenda is to discuss the strategy and the preparedness of its state leaders. If needed, Congress may also ask its Telangana CM Revanth Reddy to campaign in Andhra Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls. It is expected that Congress may support the TDP in the AP elections as the TDP reportedly backed the Congress and withdrew its contest in the recently held Telangana elections. TDP is also in alliance with Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena who is currently in the NDA.
All these aspects make the situation in AP and Congress’s future move an interesting one to watch out for. If rumours are to be believed, Congress may also ask YS Sharmila to take up the mantle in the state. These are all the speculations that are going on.
Meanwhile, it can be noted that the Congress has already won the Karnataka state Assembly as well. This shows that the Congress is slowly mustering its strength and increasing its presence in South India. The moot question is whether Congress manage to make inroads into AP where it used to play a key role during the YSR regime. Let’s wait and see.