Array
When the Congress-led Central government bifurcated Andhra Pradesh in 2014, it was hoping to reap the political benefit of the move in the newly created Telangana but nearly a decade later, the party’s position appears to have gone from bad to worse.
Series of defections after 2014 and 2018 elections, humiliating defeat in by-elections and infighting has left the grand old party demoralised in its former strongholds.
With Assembly elections a few months away, the party appears to be in a disarray with BJP seeming to have occupied the space as principal contestant for ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Despite the defeats in two Assembly elections even after claiming credit for carving out Telangana, the Congress party failed to learn the lessons and remains a divided house. Repeated interventions and warnings by the party’s central leadership also failed to set the house in order.
In both 2014 and 2018, the Congress was at least the main rival for BRS but this time the party will be facing the polls even without this status.
Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and his earlier visit to the state and his advice to the party leaders to remain united failed to yield the desired results.
The recent revolt by a group of senior party leaders against state Congress chief A. Revanth Reddy has come as the latest setback for the party even as he was trying to revive party’s fortunes by taking up people’s issues.
The BJP’s emergence as the strong opponent to BRS has pushed the Congress to the third place.
Political observers point out that the Congress is not visible in the mainstream media or even the social media. It’s either BRS or BJP. “The BJP has succeeded in building a narrative of BRS versus BJP as such a narrative suits them,” said observer Palwai Raghavendra Reddy
Series of defections, a string of defeats in by-elections, disastrous performance in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections and continued infighting have weakened the party.
The resignation of sitting MLA from Munugode constituency Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy and his defection to BJP to force by-election late last year dealt another blow to the Congress.
