Telangana non-issue, YSR tells party

Warring faction leaders for and against Telangana — state party chief D Srinivas and CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy — were summoned to the Capital for an explanation, reports Prasad Nichenametla.

With the Telangana issue threatening to hit the party in the run up to the elections, the Congress high command on Sunday set in motion a damage control exercise. Warring faction leaders for and against Telangana — state party chief D Srinivas and CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy — were summoned to the Capital for an explanation.

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Though the issue has been raging in the state for long, comments by in-charge Veerappa Moily that Telangana might not be a reality in the near future angered leaders from the region.

Reddy, whose stand against a separate state is well known, met Congress strategists Pranab Mukherjee and Ahmed Patel. The meeting lasted for about two hours at Mukherjee’s residence, and Reddy is believed to have talked about the development programmes in the state and the special packages for Telangana to convince the high command that they can win even without any promises of a separate Telangana.

Reddy and Srinivas are expected to meet party chief Sonia Gandhi tomorrow.

“I believe development seen in the state would lead us to victory over any formation,” Reddy told HT when asked about the grand alliance formed last week.

But party leaders from Telangana are worried that the alliance — formed between the TDP, TRS and the Left with the sole aim of defeating the Congress — may affect its fortunes.