The Congress party in Andhra Pradesh seems to be in full revival mode. On Tuesday, a state-wide party review took place in Vijayawada in the presence of veteran leaders. The meeting was headed by Oommen Chandy, AICC general secretary and recently appointed party in-charge of Andhra.
Chandy, who took charge earlier this month, is already taking stock of the condition of the party in the state, according to Congress sources. As many as 105 Congress leaders participated in the meeting, including former Union ministers, MPs, MLAs and district Congress in-charges.
Chandy said he would hold one on one meetings with each of them to design a future plan of action for the 2019 general elections.
The Congress had a huge stake in the state of Andhra Pradesh until 2014, but following the state bifurcation in the same year it failed to win even a single seat in the state.
The ongoing high-pitch political turmoil over the Special Category Status (SCS) for the state has also seen the Congress protesting inside the Parliament and in the state. Several veteran leaders of the party are also trying to assure that it is the Congress as a national party that would grant the SCS.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s recent sharing of stage and shaking hands with Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Bengaluru on the occasion of the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy could indicate that both parties may go together in the upcoming 2019 polls.
Former Union Minister Pallam Raju speaking to the media said, “Miracles won’t happen immediately but we are going to reach out to people with an action plan.”
He added, “We have carried out movements for the Special Category Status, we even passed a political resolution in the Congress national plenary. We believe people will acknowledge our work, only a national party can bring SCS to the state, to which Congress is committed to.”
Speaking to TNM, Congress leaders felt that Chandy’s experience in state and national politics will help the party regain its past glory.
The Andhra Pradesh Congress official spokesperson Kolanukonda Sivaji said, “We hope his experience will help us to strengthen our party, we will reach out to people with more energy.”
Speaking to the media after the review meeting, Chandy said that the Congress party was committed to granting the Special Category Status to Andhra as it had promised earlier in the Parliament.
He said, “The Congress is committed to granting Special Category Status, we have introduced an act in the Parliament.”
Congress sources also suggested that Chandy will hold an executive meeting of PCC (Pradesh Congress Council) on Wednesday.