Congress unmoved by party quitters

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Feb 24, 2014: While around 5 Congress MLAs including ports and infrastructure minister, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, are seen preparing to join TD and met it’s chief, N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday, Congress leadership seems to be unmindful of the party fortunes.

They say these desertions would actually help the party to infuse new and young blood and also gives opportunity to second rung leadership, who actually sweat it out for the party, in the district, to take up the mantle.

 With many prominent leaders are set to leave the party, contrary to the popular perception of doom for the Congress after state bifurcation, many grass root leaders and second rung leaders are eager to contest in these polls on a Congress ticket.

 “We need not worry at all. Congress has faced many such situations in the past. We are not sending anybody out. Whoever is now planning to quit the party have actually enjoyed the power and now when the party is in little trouble they are leaving. It shows their dual standards. In a way such desertions help us rebuild the party in the district. With these desertions we will get a clarity on who the true and real Congress worker is and not,” tribal welfare minister P Balaraju told this correspondent.

It was reported in these columns earlier that the Congress house in Vizag is likely to become empty by month end.  Of the 11 Congress MLAs in the district, around eight are set to leave the party and join other parties in the coming days. MLA Golla Babu Rao had already left the party and got himself reelected on YSRC ticket from Payakaraopeta long back.

He further added that it will also help grass root and other neglected second rung leaders to get a chance. Balaraju also said that those leaders who were readying themselves to jump the fence are actually a liability as most of them became Congress MLAs only after merger of PRP, which denied opportunities for the real Congress workers.

Also looks like the Congress central leadership’s new social engineering concept is said to be yielding good results. While dominant castes in the Congress state unit and the politics, are said to be either sailing with TD, YSRC or  the yet to be launched caretaker chief minister, N Kiran Reddy’s party, Congress leadership, seems to be encouraging SC and ST leaders.

It’s clearly evident with ministers like Kondru Murali, P Balaraju and Dokka Manikyavara Prasad who were considered very close to Kiran Kumar Reddy earlier had distanced themselves from him after he started a tirade against the Congress high command, for its decision to divide Andhra Pradesh.  They not only distanced from Kiran Reddy but launched scathing attack on him. This was done apparently under the directions of Congress leadership to pass on the leadership of the party to such leaders.

 “Power and leadership was always confined to a very few upper and dominant castes irrespective of the political party. Good that Congress is looking at a new social engineering concept,” said a ST leader of the Congress.