The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Congress, TD claim advantage

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 21, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Congress, TD claim advantage

K. Venkateshwarlu

HYDERABAD: Even as film star Chiranjeevi is busy inducting senior leaders from other political leaders after announcing his political entry, rivals Congress and Telugu Desam have gone into a quick impact-assessment mode and interestingly come up with the common claim of advantage, though for different reasons.

For three days now, senior leaders of both parties seemed to be caught in a race, first in playing down the impact of Chiranjeevi’s entry on their respective parties and then passing on the vote-incursion buck to the other.

Each one has a political theory for its claim. Seniors in the Congress estimate that they stood to gain from the film star’s entry as he would effectively split the Opposition vote, mainly Telugu Desam, as indicated by the steady stream of leaders leaving that party. On the other hand, TDP seniors argue that Chiranjeevi’s party would fill the cup of woes for the Congress adding to its anti-incumbency baggage. Their initial assessment is that people belonging to Kapu community in Coastal Andhra would be his mainstay, to begin with, however much the film star dislikes being portrayed like that.

The community being traditional supporters of Congress, having returned nearly 20 legislators, it is bound to cut into the ruling party vote. And given the caste equations in the region, there was even a chance of other communities gravitating towards the TDP, they contend. Further if the party’s attempts to win the support of Left parties and the TRS come to fruition, electoral mathematics too would favour TDP, they argue.

Much of the seniors’ perception is shared by the top leadership of the two parties. Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy has gone on record even questioning the necessity for new political parties, when his government has done everything for the people, leaving nothing for them (new parties) to be accomplished. Mr. Naidu too was dismissive of the Chiranjeevi’s party suggesting that the cadre-based party was strong enough to stem the tide and its impact would be confined to “two or three places”.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh