Bypoll results add to Congs T-pressure -Partys Decision To Contest The Byelections Backfires

The party high command should now wake up to reality that a strong sentiment for separate state exists in Telangana and change its stance,Congress leaders from the the Telangana region said on Friday. Many in the party see an encore of the same results in the forthcoming local body elections unless the high command changed its stance.Although senior leaders from the Telangana were not very hopeful of Congress candidates winning, they never expected that their defeat would be so disgraceful. Some had expected that with all his money power D Srinivas would scrape through. Many T-Congress leaders attribute the defeat to the social coalition that emerged in the T area after December 2009. This was the result of recent T-agitation that spread to every educational institute,town and village where people voluntarily formed Joint Action Committees (JACs) in support of the students who were in the forefront of the Telangana agitations.

All the JACs actively campaigned for the TRS candidates.The formation of social coalition of caste groups,doctors,lawyers,University teachers,students and other occupational groups played a key role in the elections.They all campaigned for the TRS in every village.The mass support helped the TRS win with huge margins, Nizamabad MP Madhu Yaski Goud commented. Unfortunately, Madhu said, the Congress leadership failed to notice this trend in the region.If the party fails to acknowledge this trend and does not change its stance on Telangana,it will bite the dust in the local body polls as well, Yaski told TOI from Delhi.He said he conveyed the same apprehension to AICC general secretary in-charge of AP M Veerappa Moily in New Delhi on Friday afternoon.

Echoing a similar sentiment,Telangana senior leaders reiterated that the party committed a mistake by contesting the polls and ignoring the all pervasive separate state sentiment.Former CWC member G Venkataswamy asked the PCC president to own up the moral responsibility for the defeat and quit.CWC member K Kesava Rao said he was the first person to oppose the party fielding candidates in the elections.APCC spokersperson B Kamalakar Rao said he was aware of the all pervasive sentiment in the region.Owning up his defeat,PCC president D Srinivas changed tack and said that the party high command should now realize the depth of the Telangana sentiment.While Telangana leaders rejoiced at the results,Andhra leaders who were partially responsible for the Congree entering the fray said lack of leadership in the party is also a factor for the poll debacle. Anantapur MP Ananta Venktramireddy claimed that had Jagan been allowed to tour the region,things would have been different.Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal who predicted the flop show by the party,said the result though anticipated was painful to him.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(source-toi)