All-India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Manickam Tagore has exuded confidence that 2024 would be a turnaround year for the party in the State.
Speaking to The Hindu on December 31 (Sunday), Mr. Tagore says that the forthcoming elections would mark a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of the Congress in the State.
He says after the recent meeting in New Delhi that discussed the existing situation in Andhra Pradesh and strategy for the upcoming polls, leaders and cadres of the party are all charged up and raring to go.
Referring to the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), he says, “Each worker of the YSRCP today was once a Congress activist and so is the case with the voters. People who had voted for the Congress in the past started to look at the YSRCP. But, most of them are disappointed today and would be happy to join the Congress again.”
Mr. Tagore has taken over the reins of the party in Andhra Pradesh at a very crucial juncture when the party is struggling to wriggle out of hibernation for want of strong leaders.
Poll strategy
Not willing to divulge much about the poll strategy. “We are planning something, which will materialise and augur well for the party’s growth,” he says.
The Lok Sabha MP said that people joining the Congress was important, reminding how the party had lost ground to the YSRCP when most of its leaders and cadres defected to that party. Realising that time is very short, Mr. Tagore says he is going ahead in a very organised way.
He says Y.S. Sharmila joining the Andhra Pradesh unit of the Congress is imminent but the date is not finalised yet. About the reports of dissent brewing in the YSRCP, he says “There is a lot of pressure at every level in the ruling party. Taking the right decisions at right time is important.”
Referring to the political scenario in the State, he posted on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) saying that the ruling YSRCP had a “backdoor” political understanding. While Pawan Kalyan’s Jan Sena Party (JSP) had a formal alliance with the BJP, the TDP awaited an alliance with Mr. Modi, who had not accorded the promised Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh in the last nine and a half years.
He also raised concern over reports of misuse of volunteers and secretariat staff in Andhra Pradesh and posted: “Disturbing reports of Jagan misusing volunteers & Secretariat staff in AP, couple with concerned over voter profiling & electoral roll manipulation.@ECISVEEP’s silence raises questions. Urgently calling for transparent deletion rules.”
