Why did Congress come to naught in Munugode bypoll?

Despite Munugode being a strong bastion of the Congress and fielding former Congress leader Palvai Govardhan Reddy’s daughter Palvai Sravanthi, the party ended up third in the elections.

Hyderabad: Lack of unity and coordination, attention diverted towards Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, infighting among leaders and poor campaigning were just a few among the many reasons for the Congress party’s disastrous performance in the Munugode bypoll.

Despite Munugode being a strong bastion of the Congress and fielding former Congress leader Palvai Govardhan Reddy’s daughter Palvai Sravanthi, the party ended up third in the elections.

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Even after the by-poll notification was announced, senior leaders in the party were more focused on the Bharat Jodo Yatra. As many as 13 committees, including coordination, reception, etc. were constituted for the yatra, indicating the party’s priorities. Not confining to this, TPCC president Revanth Reddy’s unilateral decisions and comments on senior leaders dented the party’s prospects even before the campaign began.

Further, with the leaders occupied with the Yatra, Palvai Sravanthi had to rely more on her father’s legacy, and was literally left to fend for herself.

Though a few senior leaders like Nalgonda MP Uttam Kumar Reddy, CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka and Revanth Reddy, did campaign in the constituency with a few leaders like Renuka Chowdhary and Geeta Reddy showing up once in a while, they could not change the narrative that the bypoll was a contest between the ruling TRS and the BJP, leave aside winning the elections.