Maha-type threat hits Congress' Op Akarsh

Hyderabad: ‘Operation Akarsh’ by the Congress party seems to have hit a roadblock. There has been a sudden slowdown in the attempt to poach BRS leaders. The Congress leaders had been claiming that at least 25 MLAs were ready to join BRS ahead of the Lok Sabha elections but only BRS MLAs – K Srihari, D Nagendar, T Venkat Rao and BJP senior leader A P Jithender Reddy joined the Congress recently.

It is being said that others whom the Congress claimed were in touch and would join are said to have adopted a wait-and-watch policy. They are not ready to take any political risk at this stage.

Though initially it appeared that the Congress would win over10 Lok Sabha seats, it now appears that it is not going to be a cake walk for the ruling party. The speculation in political circles that the Modi-led 3.0 government would topple the Congress government here as it did in Maharashtra had pushed all those who wanted to join Congress into a dilemma.

The speculations are that the Congress juggernaut may not get double digit seats and that there would be political turmoil after the elections had become a worrying factor for the BRS MLAs who were enthusiastic to join Congress. “Our political future will be in jeopardy if the Congress ruling state governments are targeted by Modi,” the leaders say. Hence, the Congress party and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy have now changed their electoral narrative saying that the BRS has surrendered to Modi to get bail for KCR’s daughter K Kavitha who was arrested by ED and CBI in the Delhi liquor scam.

Addressing a public meeting in Mahbubnagar on Monday, Revanth Reddy said KCR did not feel the pain when opposition leaders were jailed by him. “He did not feel the pain when I was not allowed to attend my daughter's marriage, but since his daughter was arrested, he surrendered the ‘Telangana’s Atma Gauravam’ to Modi,” Revanth alleged on Monday. The poll campaign promises to become shriller in the days to come.