Congress in ICU, will die if polls are held: Chandrababu Naidu

Hyderabad: Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu said on Sunday that the Congress had lost the confidence of the people everywhere. If the general elections are held now, the Congress would be routed.

Reacting to the results of the four states Assembly elections, Naidu said: “Right now the Congress is on the ventilator. If the general elections are held, now it will be declared dead.”

He attributed the defeat of the Congress to massive corruption. “The Prime Minister is a puppet in the hands of 10 Janapath. Even his office is involved in several corrupt deals that surfaced recently,” Naidu said. “People are angry with Congress leaders and their rule, it is a fitting lesson for the Congress,” he said.

Indirectly referring to YSRC leader Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, he said a similar fate awaited parties in the state, particularly those whose leadership was involved in corruption cases and amassing of wealth.

He said besides corruption, lack of security for women in the national capital and increasing prices of essential commodities were the other reasons why the people decided to teach the Congress a lesson.

Replying to a question, he said the people of the country were looking at the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as an alternative leader.

Next: Party loss worries T-Congress

Party loss worries T-Congress

Hyderabad: The anti-Congress wave in the Assembly elections in four states has upset Telangana Congress leaders and given hope to Seemandhra Congress leaders that the party high command may rethink the decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.

The Telangana Congress leaders are sure that the election results will not cause the party’s leadership to change its decision on creating the new state, but they are apprehensive that the anti-Congress wave in the country could affect their own chances of winning in the next general election.

There is no doubt that in the first election after the bifurcation, emotions of the people will influence the vote in both states. As the Congress has respected the sentiments of the people of Telangana by granting them a separate state, people in Telangana will stand behind the Congress. But here the TRS that fought doggedly for the new state will give the Congress a tough fight in some pockets.

In Seemandhra, where people are undoubtedly angry with the Congress party, the latter will not fare so well. In fact, local leaders have themselves often expressed and urged anti-Congress feelings.

Former PCC chief D. Srinivas said that the poll verdict in the four northern states would not have any impact on the bifurcation of the state. He also expressed confidence that the UPA government at the Centre will not collapse.

Congress MP V. Hanumantha Rao said that the party has its own strategy to pass the Telangana Bill in Parliament even if the Bill is defeated in the state Assembly. Another Congress MP from Telangana Ponnam Prabhakar said that efforts to defeat the T Bill in the state Assembly will not stall the formation of Telangana state.

Seemandhra MPs say that if the T Bill is defeated in the state Assembly, the Congress high command may rethink its decision on the state’s division. They argue that the main reason for the defeat of the Congress is the anti-people decisions taken at the Centre.

The Congress will be afraid of losing votes in Seemandhra if it persists with the anti-people bifurcation, they say. But other MPs from Seemandhra region are resigned to the reality of the bifurcation. 

Congress MP from Amalapuram G.V. Harsha Kumar said that some of them have decided to revolt against their party. He said that they will show their strength in Parliament when the Telangana Bill comes up for voting and will vote against it.

He predicted a defeat for the Congress party in the State in the next general election even worse than in the four State Assembly elections whose results were declared on Sunday. Vijayawada MP, Lagadapati Raj Gopal, also said that the results of the four State elections would have an impact on AP and it would be better for the party if it gave up on the bifurcation.