Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Bypolls: Congress to tread cautiously

D. Srinivas

HYDERABAD: The Congress has decided to observe utmost restraint and avoid any critical reference during its campaign to the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) lest it boomerangs in the byelections to 16 Assembly and four Lok Sabha seats.

The party wants to avoid any critical reference to the TRS and to impress people that it respected the Telangana ‘sentiment’. It would also harp on development plank to drive home the need to back the Congress candidates.

The one-line advice being given to the party leadership by Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president D. Srinivas is to avoid provocative statements which could favour the TRS and tilt the balance in the polls.

A senior Congress leader from Telangana told The Hindu that during interaction with partymen, the APCC chief was making it clear not to rub the TRS on the wrong side. “While interacting with us, he repeatedly referred to the Karimnagar Lok Sabha election last year and said that it could have been avoided, had some leaders observed restraint and stopped provoking TRS president K. Chandrasekhara Rao,” sources added.

“Do not give any chance to the TRS to take advantage of critical references which may backfire,” the leader said quoting Mr. Srinivas. The APCC chief was also not very pleased with official spokespersons from the Rayalaseema and Andhra regions commenting on the Telangana issue.

Realising that their remarks on Telangana may not be well taken by people, he appointed two new spokespersons from Telangana. The APCC president was said to have told the leadership that whenever the TRS leaders passed highly objectionable and critical remarks, they should react cautiously.

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