Telangana: Campaign narrative to change as Congress finds itself on defensive

The Congress leanings of the accused in attack on BRS MP, Gatani Raju, which were clear from his social media accounts, is set to change the narrative for the campaign ahead of the November 30 elections

Hyderabad: Monday’s shocking attack on BRS MP and Dubbak MLA candidate Kotha Prabhakar Reddy is all set to change the narrative for the campaign ahead of the November 30 elections, with the Congress, seen as the main rival for the ruling BRS, finding itself on the defensive.

The Congress leanings of the accused in the attack, Gatani Raju, which were clear from his social media accounts, have only substantiated the statement of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao that the Congress was resorting to violence and murder to pursue its political goals. Raju’s profiles show him professing his love and support for the Congress and Rahul Gandhi for the last several years,
Whether there was a grand Congress plan behind the attack, and what Raju stood to gain by stabbing the MP, are matters that will emerge in the days to come, but the immediate response of the Congress to the incident has only indicated that the party is already jittery and fumbling.

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In a post from its official handle on social media, the Telangana Congress attempted some damage control with a video of one Narsimhulu, who claimed in the video that the photograph being circulated as that of the assailant Raju was actually his.

However, the Congress attempt backfired pathetically, with netizens and the BRS Tech Cell too pointing out that Narsimhulu’s photograph that was circulated showed him joining the BJP with Dubbak MLA M Raghunandan Rao. The profile of Gatani Raju was enough proof of his Congress leanings, netizens said, adding that the Congress, in its desperation to wriggle out of the situation, was speaking on behalf of a BJP supporter.

The attack on Prabhakar Reddy is likely to end up a factor that the Congress will find increasingly tough to tackle during the campaign, with the party already being weighed down by internal turmoil on an unprecedented scale. The resignations of veterans like Ponnala Lakshmaiah and Nagam Janardhan Reddy, and more resignations from across the State of senior Congress leaders, protests and vandalizing of Congress offices by dissenting Congress workers are all sure to pull the party down. Another major setback was a gathering in Adilabad, where minority leaders and supporters of the Congress have launched a vociferous campaign titled ‘Save Congress from RSS’, directly targeting TPCC president A Revanth Reddy’s earlier political affiliations.

How the Congress will handle the rising political heat in November’s increasingly winter ambience remains to be seen.