The Congress party, which has been facing a series of debacles in every election in Telangana since the formation of the state in June 2014, has been making no attempts to bounce back, thanks to internal bickering and lack of motivation among the cadre.
Since the national leadership of the party itself is in deep crisis, it has not been in a position to strengthen the party at the state level. In Dubbak by-elections, the party could not put up even a decent fight and lost its deposit.
And now with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections round the corner, the party has not been in a position to protect its own leaders and cadres, at a time when there should be tough competition for the party tickets.
Many of its senior leaders are now looking up to Bharatiya Janata Party as the only alternative to safeguard their political future. For the last two days, there have been large scale defection of Congress leaders into the BJP.
Former legislator from Serilingampally Bhikshapathi Yadav and along with his son and Youth Congress leader Ravi Kumar Yadav quit the party and decided to join the BJP. Bhikshapathi Yadav has been angry with the party ever since he was denied the party ticket in 2018 assembly elections.
Another senior Congress leader Koppula Narsimha Reddy, a close confidant of PCC working president and Malkajgiri MP A Revanth Reddy, also resigned from the party and joined the BJP. Another follower of Revanth Kasam Ram Reddy, who is general secretary of Ranga Reddy District Congress Committee has also followed suit.
Similarly, former Hyderabad Mayor Banda Karthika Reddy also called it quits to the Congress and defected to the BJP along with her husband Banda Chandra Reddy. Both of them are said to be strong loyalists of PCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy.
And if rumours doing rounds in the party are to be believed, former MP from Chevella Konda Vishweshwar Reddy also is contemplating changing the party colours and defecting to the BJP sooner or later. If that happens, it is a big blow to the Congress!