Telangana Congress is keenly watching the developments in the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) over ‘imminent’ action against its Rajya Sabha Member D. Srinivas and it feels it was just the beginning of leaders, unhappy with the dominance of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao’s family, leaving the party.
Is it the reverse ‘Akarsh’ that Congress is planning after being battered with the ‘Akarsh’ strategy of TRS? Yes, says a a senior Congress leader confirming that the exit is on the cards for sometime and it is a matter of time many more leaders took similar step.
Early elections
It will pick up pace as there is a clear indication of early polls. “If leaders of Mr. Srinivas’s stature are humiliated in TRS one can imagine the fate of others.”
Party leaders are not willing to comment on when Mr. Srinivas will join the Congress but a senior leader confirmed that he did meet his old friends in the party in New Delhi. He will be welcomed but that will be without any conditions. “AICC president Rahul Gandhi will have to take the final decision.”
Other party members
After seeing an exodus of senior leaders and elected MLAs and an MP to the ruling TRS, the Congress did its best to attract several leaders from Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to strengthen itself. The joining of Revanth Reddy along with some top leaders opened the gates and recent entry of Nagam Janardhan Reddy is continuing it. But attracting leaders from the ruling TRS will give a boost to the ensuing bigger political fight while hitting the morale of the TRS rank and file. A top functionary of the party said several other leaders including those originally from TRS were in touch with them for several months and ‘it will strike at the right moment.’
Right time
Young leaders in the party argue it was the right time to recall senior leaders of the party who left for various reasons. It would reinforce the fact that the party doesn’t discriminate against anyone and Congress was the right place for the backward class leaders where they would get maximum opportunities.