YSR survives acid test, Babu is back
The Andhra Pradesh by-election results have come as a major moral booster for the Congress high command which is reeling under a series of electoral reversals in the time of surging inflation
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: The Andhra Pradesh by-election results have come as a major moral booster for the Congress high command which is reeling under a series of electoral reversals in the time of surging inflation. But for the party chief minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy, party���s impressive performance in Telangana region is nothing short of clearing an acid-test.
Equally, the results have also signalled the revival of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by Chandrababu Naidu, while the TRS and its leader Chandrashekhar Rao face uncertain future ahead of the next Lok Sabha polls.
For the Congress, the by-elections in 18 assembly segments and four Lok Sabha constituency which were rated as nothing short of a ���mini general election��� in the Telangana region was a crucial test on more than one count. With the TRS forcing these by-elections to seek ���people���s revenge on the UPA regime at the Centre and YSR government in the state for betraying the Telangana statehood plank���, an adverse result would have triggered a series of in-house crises for the Congress.
Coming after the Karnataka defeat, the Telangana provides a sort of moral-booster to the high command and the Central government that is facing political heat over spiralling inflation. Also for the Congress��� Lok Sabha poll calculations, the health of the party in AP holds tactical importance.
Secondly, the state Congress would have risked a vertical split in the event of TRS retaining its grip as the belligerent Telangana unit of PCC was on the verge of a revolt. The mood of the Telangana regional Congress was demonstrated by its senior leader G Venkataswamy in the CWC meet on Saturday when he said party���s failure to take a ���clear-cut stand��� on the separate state issue would spell doom for it in the region.
As the electorate sprung a surprise on Sunday, senior leader Ahmed Patel visited Mr G Venkatswamy here to reassure him that there was no need for panic and that the party would address the concerns in the region in a rational manner.
On the personal front, the results have cemented the position of the chief minister as his in-house rivals have been privately making moves to seek a change of guard in the state in the event of a party debacle. It was no secret that a section of the Congress leaders was endorsing the TRS ploy to make this election a verdict against the chief minister���s ���personal opposition to the separate state���.
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For YSR���s arch-rival, Chandrababu Naidu, too the day marks a major revival of the TDP in a region which used to be
its stronghold till TRS emerged as a major force in five years ago. The TDP will now play up its ���third front��� plank and will try to woo the Left in a major way with an eye on the moves of filmstar Chiranjeevi who is also testing political waters.
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