Kovur bypoll holds key to Congress fortunes

HYDERABAD: The outcome of byelection to 16 Assembly seats in Andhra and Rayalaseema, which are likely to be held by July, is expected to have a profound impact on the ruling Congress.Though, in the immediate future, byelections are slated for six seats in Telangana region on March 18, the Congress has a ready excuse if it fares badly which, in all likelihood, it will.It can blame the Telangana sentiment for its defeat.But in coastal Andhra, it will have no fig leaf to cover its shame if it is mauled at the hustings.According to analysts, the outcome of the Kovur Assembly byelection on March 18 will be the harbinger of the results in the byelections for 16 seats which too will be held soon.In Telangana the ruling party has admitted its defeat even before the electoral battle has begun.PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana said even if the Congress lost the byelections, it won’t alter the arithmetic in the Assembly.He said on another occasion that the TDP would slide to the third position, indicating that the Congress would be in the second position but not emerge as the winner.Nizamabad MP Madhu Yashki minced no words when he said there was no way the Congress could win the elections in Telagnana.But the by-election in Kuvur in Nellore district will be keenly watched as it might open a window on the mind of the coastal Andhra voter and throw some light on his thinking--whether he is impressed with the Kiran Kumar Reddy government or whether YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s charisma is working on him.Or, whether he is taken in by Chandrababu Naidu’s politics.B Sobha Nagi Reddy, a Jagan-camp MLA whose resignation has been accepted by the Speaker, is already in Allagadda, her constituency, preparing strategies for the electoral battle lying ahead.Said she: “We will have no problem in winning the seats in the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.The Congress and the TDP are fighting each other for the second position,” she told Express over telephone.The Jagan camp is not overly worried over the CBI summoning Jagan Mohan Reddy for interrogation since it believes the Congress would not be so foolhardy to do it when the byelections are round the corner.“If the Congress directs the CBI to do anthing foolish, it will be a clean sweep for us,” she said, adding: “I don’t think CBI will do anyting rash.”