The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Gandhi Bhavan abuzz with activity

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 28, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Gandhi Bhavan abuzz with activity

By W. Chandrakanth

HYDERABAD, APRIL 27. There is a discernible change in the mood of the Congress camp following the exit poll results and also because of the feedback it has got from various other sources.

Gandhi Bhavan, the APCC headquarters, which recently witnessed chaotic scenes and protests, dharnas and demonstrations and burning down of its furnishings presents a contrasting picture now.

A new bonhomie has set in among the otherwise squabbling lot. Donning the air of self-importance, some of them order others around. Some leaders are heard recalling their sacrifices (read failure to get the party ticket to contest the elections) while others replay the story of their seniority and their proximity to those who matter in the party.

"I could have scuttled the official candidate's chances in the poll. Mind you, I never did it. I am, after all, a disciplined soldier of the Congress and a follower of Sonia Gandhi," declares a senior leader.

The second rung leadership too is not lagging behind in making such claims. "I could have left the party. But my services were required at a crucial juncture. How could I desert it?" an aspirant who failed to secure the `B' form for one of the Assembly constituencies in the city, asks.

The building itself is getting a fresh coat of paint and the functionaries are trying to acquire a professional touch. Computers and ACs are appearing in the dull and drab rooms and information on contested candidates being compiled.

The buzz in the corridors is occasionally disturbed by some `stock characters' of comic dramas who boast of their valorous deeds for the resurrection of the party.

The talk invariably is on the number of seats that the party would bag and whether the party would form the Government on its own or would have to depend on others.

Hinged on to this is the talk of who-will-become-Chief Minister. The name of the former CLP leader, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, is making rounds in all groups to the pleasure of many and distress of some.

A new alignment of forces is becoming apparent as bitter critics of Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy are slowly coming to terms with the reality. The lower order is quick to adjust to the changing scenario and is sparing no effort to remind the presspersons of the contribution of Dr. Reddy.

Some senior leaders too who did not like him for "historical" reasons are making appropriate noises.

Any talk of the formation of a coalition Government as suggested by the PCC president, D. Srinivas, is quickly spurned by them. "There is more to it when he talks that way," a regular Gandhi Bhavan face puts it.

Dr. Reddy himself has gone on a holiday, but his office is abuzz with telephone calls and crowded with visitors.

There are any number of people who are descending on it every day with sweet packets announcing their `attachment' to YSR. Past bonds are sought to be strengthened and new equations are planned to be developed.

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