Former Union Minister Chinta Mohan said that the Congress should consider following effective strategies to stage a comeback in Andhra Pradesh as well as ally with regional parties ahead of the 2024 general and assembly elections.
Addressing the party cadres at the “Save Democracy” program organised by the Chittoor District Congress Committee (DCC) here on Wednesday, Chinta Mohan said that it was unfortunate that the Congress, which used to win 41 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in the united Andhra Pradesh, had been reduced zero in the present state, coming to the representation both in Lok Sabha and the state assembly. “There should be a serious introspection in the party to find out the reasons behind the debacle,” the Congress leader said.
Chinta Mohan observed that six decades ago, the Congress was in power in Tamil Nadu, but lost to the regional parties owing to the Hindu language barrier. In Bihar, the Congress was not successful in highlighting its services to the OBCs through the Mandal Commission. In Uttar Pradesh, the demolition of the Babri Masjid during the P.V. Narasimha Rao government stood as an obstacle for the party.
“Despite all the hardships, the Congress is slowly on its path to regain the lost glory in many states by allying with the regional parties. We should strive to have MLAs and MPs from Andhra Pradesh once again. We should have the foothold in the state after the bifurcation,” he said.
Stating that the current ‘political atmosphere’ of the nation was favourable for the Congress, he said that the BJP-led NDA government flouted its main poll promises of returning the black money from foreign banks and creating 25 crore jobs in the last ten years. The GST on over 3000 products had made the lives of the common people miserable, the former minister added. “In Andhra Pradesh, people are disappointed with the politics of vengeance and oppression of the opposition parties by the ruling YSRCP government,” he said.
Congress Working Committee (CWC) member N. Raghuveera Reddy said that the Congress would stand by its promise of getting the special category status for the State. Senior Congress leaders Meyyappan, Tulasi Reddy, and others from the Rayalaseema districts were also present at the event.
