With renewed 'josh', Congress targets 25 Assembly, 5 LS seats

Visakhapatnam: For the past decade, Congress candidates have not made their way to either Assembly or Lok Sabha from Andhra Pradesh.

In 2019, the Congress candidates could not garner more than one percentage of votes in the state. In a majority of constituencies, the situation was so bad that the party high command had to scout for a candidate to field. This made many to consider the Congress as a 'dead' party.

However, in the 2024 polls, the national party laid out different strategies. It aims to reverse the 2019 trend so that the party could limp back to life, fighting all odds. After making strides in Karnataka and Telangana States, the Congress has set its eyes on Andhra Pradesh with renewed 'josh'.

As a part of the exercise, the party has made Y S Sharmila Reddy, the daughter of former Chief Minister of AP YS Rajasekhara Reddy, as the president of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC).

Apparently, the APCC chief knows the pulse of the Andhra people as she took out a 'Padayatra' across the State earlier. This has aided Sharmila to gain an edge in the State.

On Saturday evening, the 'Nyaya Sadhana Sabha -Visakhapatnam Steel Plant declaration’ organised by the Congress at Trishna Grounds, Ukkunagaram attracted a massive crowd. The huge participation gave a ray of hope for the party that its presence in AP has not completely been erased.

More recently, Sharmila made an announcement that the party would contest from 175 constituencies in AP. Besides focusing on the voting percentage, the Congress also sets its target to nudge its candidates to claw back in the State and tread a victorious path. Addressing the masses at the Nyaya Sadhana Sabha held in Visakhapatnam, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy appealed to the people of AP to make sure that at least 25 MLAs and five MPs from the Congress win in the ensuing polls.

If this ratio becomes a reality, Revanth Reddy assured that the rights of the people would be safeguarded, capital city would be built, Polavaram project would be completed, Visakhapatnam Steel Plant would be saved from getting privatised and AP would get Special Category Status tag for 10 years.

Devising effective strategies on one hand and intensifying its campaign on the other, the Congress is all set to achieve its target in AP with renewed vigour.