Published: 07th May 2013 08:08 AM | Last Updated: 07th May 2013 01:08 PM
With election fever in Karnataka subsiding, the Congress high command seems to have shifted its attention to party affairs in Andhra Pradesh.
At a time when the ongoing battle between the camps of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and his detractors is intensifying with each passing day, the AICC leadership appears to have started the process of brokering peace between the warring factions to prepare the party for 2014 polls. Reports from Delhi indicate some “bold and hard decisions” may be in the offing. Congress MPs from the State have been summoned by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to meet him on May 9 at the Parliament House in Delhi from 12 noon to 2 PM to discuss party affairs. The meeting is part of his ongoing exercise to take stock of party situation across the country to prepare the rank and file for 2014 elections. Rahul is expected to discuss thorny issues, including Telangana, plaguing the State Congress in his first-ever meeting with the state MPs in his capacity as party vice-president.
“As the budget session of Parliament will be over by May 10, Rahul has started meeting all the MPs of the party before they return to their respective states. As part of this, he is holding a meeting with Congress MPs from AP on May 9,” an MP said.
Armed with ample information
The AICC vice-president has so far held similar meetings with party seniors from the state like Paladugu Venkata Rao, Gade Venkata Reddy and Palvai Govardhan Reddy. He also recently held a one-on-one with Chief Minister Kiran Reddy and PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana. At these meetings, Rahul elicited their opinions on how to face two key issues - Jagan factor and T-sentiment- which are likely to affect the electoral fortunes of the Congress in 2014. He also commissioned his own surveys on the party situation in the state through his hand-picked “secret agents”, who recently toured the state. During their tour, Rahul’s representatives gathered information on the winning chances of sitting MPs. They also gathered information on alternative candidates for the party if any of the sitting MPs board Jagan’s ship.Rahul’s agents also tried to find whether an alliance with YSRC would improve the prospects of the party. They also attempted to measure the T-sentiment.
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