Telangana Congress is in a shock. Losing two leaders, one MLA, Puvvada Ajay Kumar (Khammam)and one MLC, Md Farooq, on the same day shook the party to the core. It is clear, KCR has turned his attention to the Congress now, after finishing the Telugu Desam party. Ajay’s defection has happened when the Congress has successfully working to enlist the support from the other political parties to its nominee Ramreddy Sucharita Reddy for Palair byelection in Khammam district.
The irony is that Puvvada Ajay, who joined Congress from YSR Congress before 2014 election, defeated TDPs Tummala Nageswara Rao in Khammam Assembly constituency. The same Tummala, is now TRS nominee in Palair and Puvvada will work for his win against his own party. Palair is considered an extension of Khammam Municipality. So, the influence of Puvvada will definitely be felt in Palair constituency much to the disappointment of Congress leadership.
TPCC president Uttamkumar Reddy and working president Bhatti Vikramarkha have succeeded in garnering the support from TDP and YSR Cogress. These parties said they had favored the election of Ramreddy Sucharita, wife of Venkata Reddy Congress MLA, who died untimely, as the candidate. Ajay’s defection was a setback for Congress which is hopeful of a positive outcome in the bypoll. The party has expected that the contest would be straight between the TRS and Congress and it would benefit the party as the workers’ morale has gone up after TDP and YSRC extended support. This has been dampened by the Ajay’s decision.
Another worry of Congress is that the GOP has no cementing force among the party leaders in Telangana. Congress CLP is a loose organization. As an organization the party, both at the state and at national level, is not in a position to generate the sentiment of loyalty. So, it would be much easier for the TRS to break the Congress than the TDP, which has a strong leader like Chandrababu Naidu. When a party like TDP could be destroyed, one can imagine the plight of Congress in the face of assaults by mighty TRS.
