Slipping In Andhra - Congress has its task cut out

The by-elections in Telangana should serve as a wake-up call for the Congress.The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) swept the polls winning 11 of the 12 seats.The BJP candidate,supported by the TRS,won the other seat defeating state Congress chief D Srinivas.Add to this the support Jaganmohan Reddy has received for his odarpu yatra,which is pregnant with political overtones.Despite an unwritten gag order from the Congress leadership,MLAs have participated in the Jagan yatra.The situation doesnt augur well for the Congress.Andhra Pradesh under YSR had become the partys citadel in the south.The remarkable success in two consecutive assembly and Parliament elections had helped the Congress immensely.The party won 29 and 33 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats from the state in the 2004 and 2009 general elections,a tally unmatched in other states.This state of unrivalled Congress supremacy is now under threat.

The Congress strategy to contain the pro-Telangana sentiment in the region by buying time has not succeeded.The TRS,which failed to make an impact in the general elections,has shown remarkable resilience to stay afloat,lead a movement and win assembly seats.The main opposition in the state,the Telugu Desam,seized an opportunity in the Babhli barrage issue to energise cadres.Chandrababu Naidus water politics didnt help the party win any assembly seat,but it has helped the party reclaim the opposition space.Now if Jagan presses ahead with his claim for a larger role in state politics,Congress will have a task at hand.It will not be easy for chief minister KRosaiah,an experienced administrator but lacking in charisma and energy,to keep the flock together and keep the party flag flying high.
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(source-toi)