Congress to fight both TRS and BJP in Telangana: Rahul

According to sources, Rahul held an over three-hour-long strategy session with a group of 38 Congress leaders from Telangana and told them that the grand old party will not join hands with the TRS and, in fact, take on both the ruling party and the saffron party.

New Delhi: The Congress will fight against both the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the BJP, which is trying to expand its presence in Telangana ahead of the 2023 assembly polls. According to sources, Rahul held an over three-hour-long strategy session with a group of 38 Congress leaders from Telangana and told them that the grand old party will not join hands with the TRS and, in fact, take on both the ruling party and the saffron party. "We will work as a team and win Telangana in 2023," AICC in charge of the state Manickam Tagore told ETV Bharat.

Telangana unit chief Revanth Reddy said Rahul is likely to lead a farmer protest being organized this month. Over the past months, the state leaders have been flagging the plight of the farmers, especially problems in the procurement of paddy, which has forced chief minister KC Rao to seek an appointment with PM Modi. On his part, the chief minister had been attacking the BJP over the past year.

The Congress strategy session was held in Delhi on Monday night. During the interaction, Rahul spoke briefly for around seven minutes but gave a patient hearing to the party leaders from across the southern state. The irony is that though the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre carved out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh in 2014, the grand old party failed to reap any political benefits from the move.

The Congress lost both the assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Telangana, which has since then been ruled by the TRS. Over the past year, the BJP too has been trying to make inroads in the state. Rahul told the party leaders that Congress would try to declare its candidates for the 2023 assembly elections at least six months in advance to send a message that the party was prepared for the big contest. The move, said sources, will also give more time to the nominees to work in their respective constituencies.

Over the past years, Rahul had revamped the state unit, bringing in Virudhunagar Lok Sabha member Manickam Tagore as AICC in-charge and naming another Lok Sabha member Revanth Reddy as the state unit chief. "We have to fight on the ground. We are preparing to launch an agitation. All those who are seen on the streets will be noticed," said Reddy.

The new team had been working hard to re-strengthen the party but a section of the leaders had been miffed with Revanth Reddy, who was formerly with the TDP. As a result, the state unit had been trying to curb factionalism. On Monday, the issue reached Rahul’s doorstep, who made a strong pitch that unity was key to the party’s success in the coming assembly polls.

A coordination panel, comprising senior leaders, maybe set up in the coming days to resolve any intra-party feuds and ensure better communication, said the sources. The Huzurabad bypoll loss last year had added to acrimony in the state unit, which is now trying to sink differences and put up a united face.