Congress Faces Acid Test To Remain Relevant In State Politics

Hyderabad, Feb 13 (maxim News):  With a few months to go for Assembly elections in Telangana, the Congress faces an acid test to remain relevant in state politics as the BJP is making every effort to become the principal contestant to ruling BRS headed by the Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar.

While in neighboring Andhra Pradesh the chances of a revival of the grand old party’s fortunes remained bleak.  More than eight years after the formation of Telangana as a separate state, the Congress party still appears clueless to regain the lost ground in its former stronghold.  Reeling from defections of several leaders and legislators during the last eight-and-a-half years and humiliating defeats in by-elections, the party looks to be in disarray.  infighting and lack of any charismatic figures have added to the woes of the grand old party. 

The Bharat Jodo yatra of Rahul Gandhi brought some enthusiasm to lift the spirit of demoralized cadre and the state Congress chief A. Revanth Reddy is trying to keep the momentum with ongoing Padyatra as part of the Haath-Se-Haath Jodo campaign, the party faces the acid test.  

The Congress, which was hoping to reap the political benefit of carving out Telangana state in 2014, may find the going tough in the third consecutive election.  The party faces the biggest challenge to its survival as the BJP appears to have occupied the space of principal contestant for ruling BRS.  In both 2014 and 2018, the Congress party was the main rival for BRS but this time the party may face the next polls even without this status.

Political observers say that in the narrative of BRS versus BJP built by the saffron party, the Congress party may face the going tough.  “it will be now or never for the Congress party in Telangana.  To stay afloat in state politics, it will have to at least emerge as the second largest party in the Assembly said a political observer.  “Whatever the Congress party lost the status of opposition, it never made a comeback.  There are many examples like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, said the political observers  

The BJP wrested the Dubbak Assembly seat from the TRS in a 2020 by-election to consolidate itself.  The saffron party, which hardly had any presence in the constituency, pushed the Congress party to the third position.  The Congress suffered another humiliation the same year as it could win just two seats in 150-member Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).  The party was pinning its hopes on a by-election to Nagarjuna Sagar to revive its fortunes in the state, its senior leader and former minister K.Jana Reddy lost the contest by over 18,000 votes t the TRS candidate.  (Maxim News)

---

Next Story :

Now you can get the latest stories from Indtoday on Telegram every day. Click the link to subscribe.  Click to follow Indtoday’s Facebook page and Twitter and Instagram. For all the latest Hyderabad News updates