Post date: Apr 15, 2011 6:14:48 AM
The ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh has never been in such a dicey situation as it finds itself now.
It has literally been pushed into backward defense as it heads for the crucial by-elections to Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula Assembly seats, slated for May 8.
An aggressive onslaught, combined with a mind game unleashed by rebel leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy ahead of the by-polls is proving too tough to handle for the grand old party. The stakes are indeed very high for the two sides in the battle that could well alter the political future of Andhra Pradesh.
A victory in the by-polls will see the emergence of former MP Jagan not only as a leader in his own right but also as a powerful challenger to the ruling party. A defeat - which of course, is seen as a remote possibility - will seal his political fate.
While Jagan will contest the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat, his mother Y S Vijayalakshmi will seek re-election from Pulivendula. In the by-polls in December 2009, Vijayalakshmi was elected unanimously from Pulivendula following the death of her husband and former CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
She too resigned from her post along with her son and also quit the Congress on November 29 last year. This time, however, she will have to face the contest as the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party have decided to field their candidates.
For the Congress, winning the by-elections is critical on one hand to ensure longevity of the Kiran Kumar Reddy government and on the other to sustain its hegemony in the state politics