Rahul, Shah plan to conquer Telangana

Hyderabad: Now that the post-election excitement is subsiding slowly in Gujarat, BJP president Amit Shah and newly-elected Con­g­ress president Rahul Gandhi are setting their eyes on Telangana.

They hope to turn the tables against CM K Chandrashekar Rao and emerge as powerful alternatives in the state even if they do not capture power in the 2019 Assembly elections. The two leaders are expected to test Telangana waters post Gujarat verdict soon. They are expected to campaign for improving the prospects of their respective parties in the next elections.

Though dates have not been finalised yet, sources in both the parties said they may not be far off. Rahul Gandhi is expected to tour Telangana after Sankranti and Amit Shah in February. Said Congress MLC Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy: "We are planning the meeting either at Mahabubabad or at Kothagudem since the number of tribals is more in these areas.

I am sure under Rahul Gandhi's leadership, we will be making a big impact on the electorate." As the green shoots are visible in the Congress post its impressive performance in Gujarat, the party machinery is hoping that new president might bring about a miracle and lift the sagging morale of the workers in Telangana too. The party leaders feel that Rahul Gandhi would be able to clip KCR's wings to some extent as they perceive an anti-incumbency wave building up in Telangana.

The Congress leaders in the state hope that Rahul Gandhi in his new avatar as the president of the party would be able to lead the party in the elections as he now is a leader transformed with new political insight which came out in his address in Berkeley in the US in September where he admitted to past mistakes of the party and delivered an incisive critique of the NDA dispensation.

While this is so, Amit Shah might visit Telangana in February. Said BJP MLC N Ramachandra Rao: "Amit Shah’s tour is likely in the first week of February. Our national leadership is focusing on Telangana as it has fair chances to win the next elections. Telangana is our next political destination," he said.

Though the BJP managed to scrape through in the elections in Gujarat, the leaders are still riding the high horse that the BJP wave is still sweeping across the country while Rahul Gandhi, who would be leading the party to the next elections as its president, appears set to turbo charge the party machinery in Telangana.

Amit Shah has already toured the state and held consultations with the party functionaries which served as the much-needed tonic for them, allowing them the first stirrings of hope that they too could look to the prospect of giving a big fight to KCR. Though Amit Shah wanted to address more meetings in the state, he had to defer them after elections for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh were announced.