The Congress high command is planning a strategy to counter the moves by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, and the former MP, Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, to topple the state government and force a snap poll.
A senior Congress leader said that the party was banking on the assumption that majority of MLAs, including those belonging to opposition parties, do not want to face midterm polls at this juncture.
He added that even if a decision in favour of separate Telangana emerged, it would taken in such a way that all the credit would go to the Congress. “It will not be to the advantage of KCR,” he added.
The Congress high command is also confident of convincing leaders belonging to the Seema-Andhra regions to toe the party line before taking any decision on Telangana.
“We are aware that Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy will try to whip up feelings on the division of the state but we will outsmart him and keep the Congress flock united behind us,” said the leader.
The Congress feels that even if a handful of MLAs shift to the Jagan camp, majority of legislators will not cross over as nobody is keen on snap polls.
Likewise, the high command is also formulating a plan to prevent Congress leaders from moving into the TRS.
“KCR knows he cannot stretch the Telangana issue till 2014 and wants to cash in on the present situation by saying that midterm polls are imminent,” said a Congress source. “Things will be alright in another six months, when both KCR and Jagan factors will fade out.”
Meanwhile, the Congress core committee that met on Friday at the residence of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, also discussed the contents of the Justice Sri Krishna Committee report on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
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Cong core group meets
New Delhi, Dec. 31: The Congress top brass, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi, held delibrations on Friday evening in the backdrop of the Justice Srikrishna Committee submitting its report on the separate Telangana statehood issue.
The delibrations came ahead of the New Year in which the Prime Minister has called for a new beginning and has promised to redouble efforts to deal effectively with the challenges facing the nation, including rising prices, a growing cause for concern.
The meeting took place hours after the all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar failed to end the deadlock between government and the Opposition over demand for JPC which is threatening to spill over to the Budget session next year. Mr Chidambaram has convened a meeting of 8 recognised political parties of Andhra Pradesh on January 6. —PTI