Andhra Pradesh was once considered a bastion of the Congress. But after Telangana was carved out from the state during the Congress-led UPA government’s tenure in New Delhi, the grand old party has been decimated in what remained of Andhra Pradesh. But, after suffering setbacks in the state Assembly and parliamentary polls in 2014 and 2019, the Congress is now hoping for a revival in Andhra Pradesh. It is pinning its hope on the state’s former chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy’s daughter and current chief minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy’s sister Y S Sharmila, who has recently joined the party. Manickam Tagore, an MP from Tamil Nadu, who oversees the Andhra Pradesh affairs of the Congress, tells DH’s S N V Sudhir that the party is hopeful of bringing back its past glory in the state.
Excerpts:
What are the prospects of Congress in the upcoming polls in Andhra Pradesh, where the party had drawn a blank in the 2014 and 2019 polls?
We are confident that this time Congress will make a considerable impact in Andhra Pradesh. People now understand it’s only the Congress that can bring the state back on the development track after the misrule of the TDP and the YSRCP in the past 10 years. Both the regional parties had done nothing for the development of the state and the welfare of the people, except surrendering to the BJP. The Congress is the only party that can give an alternate vision to Andhra Pradesh for its growth.
Do you think Y S Sharmila will be a game changer for Congress in the state?
Why not? She comes with a strong legacy of our party’s towering leader, Y S Rajasekhar Reddy. As soon as she took the reins of the party in Andhra Pradesh, Sharmila started touring all the districts of the party to interact with the party cadre. She already finished the first round of her state-wide tour. Wherever she went, Sharmila received a tremendous response from the party workers as well as the common people. She has brought back the long-pending demand for the Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh to the fore again. Every leader of the Congress now wants her to lead the party in the state.
What is the Congress' overall strategy for Andhra Pradesh?
The Congress is determined to raise the people’s issues. The central leadership appointed a state-level manifesto committee led by former union minister, M M Pallam Raju. The manifesto committee members already started consultations with a cross-section of people. Our manifesto will reflect the aspirations of the people. We believe that the Special Category Status would help Andhra Pradesh achieve overall growth. This will be our main demand. Our leader Rahul Gandhi already announced that granting the Special Category Status would be the first task when the Congress would come to power at the Centre, We are committed to it.
What did go wrong for Congress in Andhra Pradesh?
Somewhere we failed to explain to the people of Andhra Pradesh the circumstances in which the then Congress-led Union Government created Telangana by bifurcating the state. The separate state of Telangana had been on the manifesto of the Congress in 2004. Our party just honoured that commitment. Ours is a party that always keeps promises. But then Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s regime utterly failed to explain and convince the people in Andhra Pradesh about it.
What does lie ahead for the Congress in Andhra Pradesh where the regional parties like the YSRCP and the TDP continue to be strong forces?
Our effort is to revive the Congress in Andhra Pradesh. The idea of the Congress is social, economic, and political empowerment of every section of the society, especially weaker sections. Today, the YSRCP led by Y S Jaganmohan Reddy hijacked the ideals the Congress espoused. But he surrendered to the BJP. The TDP too surrendered to the BJP. We believe the people of Andhra Pradesh were slowly realizing the fact and stood in support of the Congress to usher in growth in Andhra Pradesh. We are hopeful about the revival of Congress in Andhra Pradesh.