MyVoice: Views of our readers 7th November 2021

It's too early to write off Congress in Telangana

After the Huzurabad elections, everyone was cornered about Congress and its impact on voters. The majority of political leaders criticised Congress for not getting good percentage of votes and also targeting the present chief Revanth Reddy and senior Congress leaders. We know pretty well that Congress has not taken the election very seriously and the fact being the fight is in between Eatala and KCR forget about their party affiliations. We are seeing many more regional parties are coming as if they want to be an alternative to TRS but it will be very difficult for the small parties as they cannot confront Mr. KCR, an astute and seasoned politician of our times.

Now the question here is who will be in the second place after TRS and majority of political analysts are in the opinion that the BJP will be the second alternative to TRS but it is not true. One cannot judge the performance of the PCC chief with this election and secondly the strongholds of the Congress among the villagers is known to all .

Very recently the Congress has inducted young and dynamic leaders constituency-wise unlike the TRS and BJP. It organised a series of meetings and could able to attract very large gatherings and that is being an indication of their strength. We need to understand before the Assembly and next General Elections many may shift their loyalties from TRS and most likely join with the Congress or BJP as it is evident that the other parties have a say in the party.

In 2014, Congress won 21 seats out of 119 seats and the vote share was 25.02 per cent, in 2019 elections the Congress won 19 seats and its vote share has gone up to 28.4 per cent. The BJP voting percentage is being 7 per cent both in 2014 and 2019. The voting percentage is 46.9 per cent for TRS in 2019.

To me, it looks based on some facts and figures the Congress will certainly give a tough fight to the TRS and Secondly the BJP will certainly improve or consolidate its position in urban and semi-urban areas. The recent price rise of petrol and diesel and all essential commodities have gone high without any proper check of price rise. The results of by-polls to 29 assembly seats and three Lok Sabha seats can be seen as a bittersweet outcome for the BJP, which won 8 seats and at the same time it suffered setbacks in Himachal Pradesh and Bengal.

The Congress retained 9 seats and won big in Himachal. In Andhra Pradesh it being the YSRCP and in Telangana, the BJP consolidated its position with the induction of Eatala Rajender. The BJP consolidated its position in Assembly with Rajender(Huzurabad),. Ragunandhan Rao (Dubbaka) Raja Singh (Gosha Mahal ) - three power full R's of BJP.

Finally, with the result of bye-polls, the BJP has reduced Rs 5 for petrol and Rs 10 per diesel. The essential edible oils rates are also reduced to some extent to just gain the confidence of the people as in some states, the Assembly elections are scheduled soon.

The problem with the national Congress as it is lacking the right direction to the leaders and if they set the things in right order certainly the Congress will certainly be a second alternative for the present BJP government.

The regional parties will certainly have always-on upper hand provided they have to be united into one fold at least during the next general elections. Their strength cannot be underestimated as they may be prove very strong in particular in southern and northeastern states. Some prominent leaders among these parties can take an initiation to form a third alternative to the present BJP and may gain substantially. Let's wait and see the outcomes

— Kanagiri SN Prasad,Hyderabad

GOP is still a muddle-headed being

An ongoing anti-democratic tendency is being reported and practiced in Congress, against some members of G23. While there are incidents of no-holds barred activities of extreme pampering in favour some individuals like Navjot Singh Sidhu by the top leadership in the party, pandering to all his childish and irrationals demands - ranging from being made as CM of Punjab, to replacing top police officials in the state etc.

Such uncalled for behaviour on part of the high command is pushing party cadres into serious dilemma, who are unable to fathom the mood and temperament of those who matter in the party, and at the helm of affairs. The party president Sonia Gandhi was angry when some senior leaders openly expressed their views against unholy developments in the party; and their guts to do so, must be admired as they have been yes masters' earlier.

The high command is yet to realise the need to put Sidhu in place, before he ruins party prospects at polls, becoming a laughing stock within the party. Sidhu did not expect Channi to be made the Chief Minister of Punjab, in the aftermath of the exit of Capt Amarinder Singh. Sidhu resigned the post of Pradesh Committee president, in anticipation of CM clout going in his favour. Sidhu had to eat the humble pie and was made the chief of state Congress again.

Punjab reacting unfavourably to the extended jurisdiction of BSF in tackling terror did not go well with peace loving sections of Punjab. The only sane voice in this regard was ex-CM Capt Amarinder Sigh, who was very concerned about whimsical and mercurial behaviour of Navjot Singh Sidhu, being overly friendly with the Pakistan Prime Minister and the chief of the army, posing serious challenges to national security as Punjab shares longest border with Pakistan. The state is already in serious trouble with drugs being used by a large section of people in the state, which is causing alarm to parents and the society in general.

The Congress having made some inroads in the recently held by elections in Rajasthan, despite its negative approach to Centre, can do well, in the event of an attitudinal change to appreciate positive developments in right light, and encourage the Centre in such acts; to be more eligible for constructive criticism that is always good for a functional democracy like India.

— K R Venkata Narasimhan, Madurai

Indian fate in Afghan hands

Despite two straight and convincing wins against Afghanistan and Scotland, our chance for qualifying for the knockout round rests on the Afghanistan vs New Zealand match today, which will clear the air in a close and well contested ICC sponsored tournament. The two losses in the first two games really shattered our hopes. But Rohit Sharma and Rahul paved the way for quick scoring in the last two games and provided us base to improve our scoring rate and thereby increase our run rate to pave the way for an interesting stage.

With Ravichandran Ashwin coming back to the playing XI, the spin bowling department is strengthened and we are achieving favourable results. It is a matter of time that will decide the fate of our team and one another team from the other group. Both England and Pakistan played a perfect hit and run game to record 4 victories in four matches and thereby assured of a semi-final berth in the world's prestigious tournament.

The hit and run game of cricket has reached an interesting stage and the odds are even in the last stage matches also. A victory for New Zealand against Afghanistan will decide the second team to qualify for the last four stages. If there is an upset and Afghanistan upstage the World Test Champion, then the Afghanistan side going up the ladder is not sure. Had India achieved a win in the first two matches it would have been a smooth sailing.

However, India is having an easy outing against Namibia to forge ahead on run rate and achieve a facile win. Whether that is enough or not, only time will tell. As captain, Virat Kohli was lucky with the toss for the first time and we hope his Lady Luck will see his side making further strides in the tournament. It is indeed a now or never situation.

— C K Subramaniam,Navi Mumbai

Tourism needs to be encouraged more in AP

The decision of the AP government to resume Papikondalu boat trips from November 7 after a gap of about two years is welcome. Papikondalu hill ranges have always been a popular tourism destination. The trip would be a feast to the eyes of the tourists for the scenic beaty of various locations including both sides view points and halting stations as the boat covers the distance of 100 km from Rajamahendravaram passing through Pattiseema, Sri Ramagiri,Gandipochamma temple,Perantalapalli temple, Ashram, Polavaram project area , kolluru bamboo huts etc. The entertainment programmes inside the boat keep the tourists delighted throughout the trip and add to the thrill of the boat tour.

However, the lessons learnt from the ghastly accident two years ago when the Royal Vasista boat with 77 passengers on board capsised at Kachaluru should be kept in mind. While 26 passengers were rescued, others had a watery grave. It is imperative that safety of the passengers should be given top priority and all precautions should be taken not to allow past mistakes. The condition of the boat should be thoughly cheched and the necessary safety equipment such as fire extinguishers and medical kits sould be installed for any emergency use. Only boats with fitness certificate should be operated.

Experienced drivers with full knowledge of the permitted route should be deployed. Weather reports and water levels should be kept in mind while permitting the trip.The boat should be continuously monitored by the control rooms. Passengers sould be supplied with life jackets in good condition and should be told as to how to use them when alerted. All Covid appropriate norms should be followed by all persons on board. As tourism is an economic growth driver and a good source of employment generation besides boosting small businesses, the possibility of developing tourism in places like Konaseema can be explored.

— Dr E R Subrahmanyam, Amalapuram

The voter is the ultimate judge

Many an analysis have drawn an inference that Eatala Rajender had won on the basis of his own individual strength. Some said that Congress silently voted in his favour. Some say, it was a people's revenge reaction to KCR's action of dumping Eatala from the cabinet without sufficient grounds. Some question whether Eatala would have at all made it as an Independent candidate. All said and done, politics is very tricky and voters too have become trickier in playing their game and having their last laugh.

It is quite possible that this is a case in isolation. If some MLAs of TRS think that they too can follow Eatala by resigning and getting re-elected from other party, it would be like the proverbial fox burning stripes on its body to look like a tiger. Voters seem to have learnt the art of paying back the leaders in their own coin.

— D Nagarjuna, Hyderabad