Hyderabad: In a major setback to the Congress in Andhra Pradesh ahead of the Parliamentary and assembly elections, former Union minister Kishore Chandra Deo resigned from the primary membership of the party.
In his letter to AICC president Rahul Gandhi, he blamed the local leadership for his decision.
“There is no existence of the party in the state. I have written many letters to the high command urging it to take steps to develop the party. But nobody is listening to me. The state leadership is conducting meetings for the sake of it, and not for the welfare of the party,” Deo told News18 after his resignation.
Sources said he was in touch with chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and waiting for an assurance of a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) ticket from his old Lok Sabha constituency Araku in Visakhapatnam district.
However, Deo said, “I am not yet decided about my political future. My steps would be in accordance with what my supporters want.”
Deo, a five-time Lok Sabha member, served as a minister for tribal and panchayat raj affairs in the Manmohan Singh cabinet. He also held a term in the Rajya Sabha and was a Union minister of state for mines in 1979.
Another former Union minister and Congress leader, Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy, is on his way to join the TDP very soon.
Few months ago, former assembly speaker of united Andhra Pradesh from the Congress, Nandendla Manohar, joined Pawan Kalyan’s Janasena party.
Hoping for an alliance with the TDP ahead of the twin elections in the state, Congress leaders had continued their attacks on workers of YSR Congress Party, led by Jagan Mohan Reddy.
However, following the recent rout in Telangana where the Congress and TDP had stitched an alliance, the latter is not so keen on a similar arrangement with the grand old party at the moment.
This has left the Congress leaders search for greener pastures. Sources said several key Congress leaders are in touch with the TDP, YSRCP and Janasena and looking for a suitable opportunity to switch alliance.
“The Congress has lost its relevance in Andhra Pradesh in the present scenario. The party functionaries may have benefitted from a tie-up with TDP, but is not happening. They are now left with no options but to leave the party,” Pole Vikram, a political analyst told News 18.
A lot of them blame the party for dividing the state, which was against the interests of the people of Andhra.
Meanwhile, many of the former turncoats have later been elected as MPs and MLAs, even as those contesting on Congress tickets failed to win seats.
With scant or no representation in the assembly or Lok Sabha, the party leadership also lost focus from AP politics.
Following an alliance with the TDP at the national level, the high command completely started ignoring the state.
Experts are now of the opinion that though the Congress might win a few votes, it is likely to win any seat on its own.
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