Sonia, Rahul Gandhi no-show a dampener for Congress candidates in Telangana

HYDERABAD: Contrary to expectations, contesting candidates of the Congress from over half-a-dozen Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana would not be getting the ‘Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi fillip’ to improve their prospects in the Lok Sabha elections.


The itinerary of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi for the last day of campaigning in Telangana has not been confirmed yet. A senior leader in the Congress said that both Sonia and Rahul were busy campaigning in other states and it was highly unlikely that they would make it to Telangana on the last day of campaigning on Tuesday, though the party leadership in the state had urged both Sonia and Rahul to spare some time for the last leg of campaign in Telangana.

Although Sonia had addressed a public meeting in Medchal ahead of the December 2018 assembly polls, she has not campaigned in Telangana for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Rahul has already held two rounds of campaigning in Telangana, covering the Lok Sabha constituencies of Chevella, Zaheerabad, Nagarkurnool and Nalgonda.

Former minister and Congress candidate from Bhuvanagiri Lok Sabha constituency Komatireddy Venkat Reddy had in person urged Rahul to address a public meeting in Bhuvanagiri constituency and hold roadshows in Malkajgiri and Secunderabad. Chevella sitting MP and contesting candidate Konda Vishweshwar Reddy had urged Sonia to address a public meeting, which was cancelled due to a row over police permission.

Other Congress leaders including A Revanth Reddy in Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency, former Union Minister Renuka Choudhury in Khammam and Komatireddy brothers in Bhuvanagiri are banking on their personal charisma and Congress party’s election manifesto, mainly the Rs 72,000 per annum minimum income scheme for the poor, to win over voters.

Congress candidates from Adilabad, Karimnagar, Peddapalle, Warangal, Secunderabad, Nizamabad, Medak and other candidates in fray from various constituencies are depending on star campaigner Vijayashanti and veterans such as Jaipal Reddy, K Jana Reddy, V Hanumanth Rao, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Marri Shashidhar Reddy and other senior leaders in the state to boost the morale of the party cadre and enhance their electoral prospects.

Telangana Congress treasurer and 2019 Lok Sabha polls state publicity committee co-chairman Gudur Narayana Reddy said that the “Rs 6,000 per month to every poor family, ensuring 34 lakh jobs by March 2020, 33% reservations for women in legislative bodies, crop loan waiver and MSP to farmers, simplifying the GST and other schemes of the Congress are going to ensure the victory of the Congress in Telangana and elsewhere in the country to bring Congress-led UPA to power again.”