New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday claimed it will form the next government in Telangana and credited Rahul Gandhi’s aggressive campaign against both the ruling BRS and the BJP for the gain.
Polling for the 119-member Telangana Assembly was held on November 30. The result would be out on December 3 when the Congress hopes to defeat the BRS which has been in power since the state was formed in 2014. “We will certainly form the next government. All credit must go to Rahul Gandhi’s strategy which targeted both the BRS and the BJP, flagged corruption in the state government and spelt out the grand old party’s vision for the state,” AICC secretary in charge of Telangana Rohit Chaudhary told ETV Bharat.
According to party insiders, Rahul’s focused strategy in Telangana brought about a significant change on the ground. "The Congress was not being seen as a serious contender for power till the high-profile Munugode assembly by-poll in November last year but was widely believed to be the real challenger to the BRS this time,” a senior AICC functionary said.
He further said that Rahul’s decision last year not to have any truck with the BRS, target the BRS-BJP combine and channel public anger over alleged corruption in the state government, worked for the Congress. A detailed plan prepared by Rahul to make the Congress count in the southern state was drafted and rolled out. “Manikrao Thakre was posted as the new AICC in charge of the state with a mandate to unite the state team. State leaders were asked to launch yatras to connect with the voters and we told the voters that the BRS and the BJP were working together,” said a senior AICC functionary.
“In fact those who had voted for the BJP in the 2018 polls had expected some action from the Centre against the BRS. When nothing happened, both the BJP’s supporters and senior state leaders were upset. As a result, many of them moved to the Congress, including former Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy and actress Vijayashanti. Several BRS leaders, who sensed the public mood, too joined the Congress before the polls,” said Chaudhary.
According to the AICC functionary, polling in the state was as per the party’s expectations and the Congress was gaining in the rural areas where the voters were fed up with the BRS government over the past 10 years. “The rural voters were miffed with the BRS as none of their promises made in the past were fulfilled. So, they realized that the ruling party was bluffing them by promising the moon this time. The villagers were asking why the state government could not deliver over the past 10 years if it was serious about its promises. In contrast, the voters found the Congress’ assurances attractive and had reasons to believe as similar guarantees were being implemented in neighbouring Karnataka,” Chaudhary said.
“We had released our poll manifesto early and the BRS got sufficient time to prepare its manifesto. However, the BRS could not convince the voters of the promises. They were busy all through attacking the Congress leaders but spoke little of the BJP. The voters realized the game and were prepared to give Congress a chance,” said Chaudhary.
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