NO WAY OUT - Bypolls: Cong,TDP on the horns of a dilemma - Yet To Figure Out A Way To Handle The T Issue

The bypolls for 12 assembly seats necessitated due to the resignation of 10 TRS MLAs and an MLA each from TDP and BJP in February to protest the Centres flipflop on Telangana is turning out to be major headache for the Congress and the TDP. The two principal parties in the state are forced to go to the people with every issue but the promise of a separate state for fear of a backlash in other parts of the still united state. While the Congress is yet to formulate a strategy,the TDP is likely to stick to usual campaign suspects corruption, power crisis, price rise, weavers suicides and lacklustre performance of CM K Rosaiah. That leaves TRS an open field to project itself as regions messiah while it champions its pet cause. The dilemma for Congress is whether to go with its leaders in Telangana who advocate a separate state or listen to those from Rayalaseema and Andhra who have pointed out that any divisive talk could kill the partys chances in local body elections slated in the regions after the bypolls. At a meeting held last Sunday, PCC president D Srinivas had said the bypolls should be fought on partys commitment to Telangana and even suggested Congress alone can deliver Telangana as the slogan. But this has been firmly opposed by leaders from across the divide. The elections should be fought on the development plank and other achievements of the government. A promise of Telangana in the campaign will weaken the party in the next municipal elections in Andhra and Rayalaseema, Anantapur MP A Venkatrami Reddy told the media here on Tuesday. The bypolls have only intensified the mudslinging in the ruling party. Ridiculing the opposition to T as a campaign issue ,D Niranjan and B Kamalakar Rao, leaders of the Congress Telangana Monitoring Group, told the media: Venkatrami Reddy should recall that YSR fought the 2009 elections on the twin plank of development and Telangana. The Srikrishna committee report will have no bearing on T. So, bypolls should be fought to demonstrate our commit-ment to Telangana.

Another party leader, however, pointed out: It was to avoid such a dilemma our stand had been that we should not contest and let the sitting candidates win their respective seats. But now, the high command has imposed the contest on us.  Many senior leaders are expected to stay away from  campaign. According to sources, lone Union minister from the region S Jaipal Reddy and CWC Member K Keshava Rao are also likely to avoid the bypolls. Both the leaders are opposed to a contest with the candidates who have resigned for T. How could they ask the people to defeat them, asked a senior Congress leader.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Bypolls: TDP to keep mum on Telangana issue


The TDP is entering the assembly bypoll fray rather reluctantly after the Congress said it would contest the 12 byelections. Though the TDP has not yet made public its strategy, indications are that they would not make Telangana a core issue.Instead, we will expose the poor governance of the CM, a TDP leader said. Among the other parties which contested these seats in the 2009 assembly elections, while TRS is sitting pretty, Chiranjeevi's PRP is slated to stay away to firm up its pro-united stand. The BJP, which has latched on to the divisive T issue to make its presence felt in the state, is expected to go full steam on the issue and is confident of retaining Nizamabad Urban seat held by its MLA Y Lakshminarayana who defeated PCC chief D Srinivas, who, himself is now unsure of contesting again.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(source-toi)