Telangana exit polls give Congress the edge; YSR camp in Andhra worried
Congress wave that began in Karnataka has travelled now to Telangana and will affect Andhra Pradesh too, believe Congress leaders
Exit polls of the just concluded assembly elections in Telangana, which give the Congress an edge over the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), are giving the ruling YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh the jitters.
The exit poll predictions that the Congress will emerge as the single largest party, even if it does not assume power for the first time in Telangana, have led to unabashed joy in the Congress camp in Andhra, once its stronghold.
An excited PCC chief, Revanth Reddy even told party workers to start celebrating. If Congress wins in Telangana, it could lead to the revival of the Congress in Andhra, party members believe.
New life into Congress in Andhra
The Congress is now a pale shadow of its original self in Andhra Pradesh. Many of its leaders have virtually disappeared and they do not have any leader. The last election was a disaster for the party.
The Telangana exit polls have, however, injected new life in the Congress in Andhra Pradesh.
Tirupati Congress leader and AITUC Chittoor district leader Naveen Reddy underlined that there was no major difference between the KCR government in Telangana and the Jaganmohan Reddy government in Andhra.
"It is KCR's family rule in Telangana. In Andhra it is Jagan's family rule. All are his distant relatives and close relatives. They are seen everywhere. The corruption in the same, so are the problems. No jobs, no development,” he said.
According to Naveen Reddy, there is no guarantee that voters will vote for you just because you roll out welfare schemes. “So, the verdict in Andhra in the next election will be the same as in Telangana,” he said.
Congress wave in south
Naveen Reddy felt that the Congress wave which began in Karnataka has travelled now to Telangana and will affect Andhra Pradesh too.
"Congress wind blows from Karnataka. It has come to Telangana. Coming to Andhra from there is not very difficult. No one can stop the comeback of the Congress. The Telangana exit polls are proof,” he said.
Meanwhile, a former IAS officer commented that welfare schemes do work once in a while but not always. The 1981 batch officer, who retired after working in Andhra and Telangana governments, revealed that in the 1990s, then Congress chief minister Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy tried hard to defeat the Telugu Desam Party.
He chose the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) to release funds, which he was confident would reach the poorest, leading to an electoral windfall. However, the Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy government was defeated.
“Now, if the BRS government is defeated in Telangana, the theory will be proved again. The Andhra Pradesh government has also distributed huge sums of money through welfare schemes. Every time it doesn't work."
“The Andhra chief minister must take the Telangana election message very seriously,” the former bureaucrat said.
Impact on YSR Congress
The YSR Congress has not commented on the Telangana exit polls. Some of its leaders argue – a sign of panic -- that exit polls have been wrong in the past.
However, Telugu Desam politburo member and former minister Kalva Srinivasulu said the Telangana outcome will have a major impact on Andhra politics. "People of Telangana want a change. The Andhra people are also looking for a change. Telangana has paved the way for change. The same will happen in Andhra too,” Srinivasulu told The Federal.
“If the results of the exit polls are correct, Jagan (in Andhra) will be mentally weakened. It will give more enthusiasm to the forces fighting against Jagan's anti-people administration in Andhra,” said Srinivasulu.
