With by-elections to 18 Assembly constituencies -- 17 of them in Andhra-Rayalaseema regions alone -- and the Nellore Lok Sabha seat slated for June 12, any decision in favour of Telangana will only be suicidal for the ruling Congress.
This fact was also reflected in the exasperation of Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhar Rao who returned to Hyderabad from New Delhi in a huff after accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi of being "indifferent" on the issue.
Literally, the Congress is caught in a Catch-22 situation on the Telangana issue.
Already, the party government here is facing a strong anti-incumbency in Telangana as well as Andhra-Rayalaseema regions, observers say.
Politically, it is facing a much bigger threat in the form of YSR Congress of Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, which supposedly holds sway in Andhra-Rayalaseema.
After its flip-flops on the statehood issue in December 2009, the party completely lost ground in Telangana and also contributed to the re-emergence of the TRS.
The catch, though, is whether the Congress can regain lost ground in the region by conceding the Telangana demand as the TRS may walk away with all the credit.
Previously there were eight recognised political parties in the state but the number has come down to seven following Praja Rajyam Party's merger with Congress. MORE PTI DBV
RT
