The Congress party has conceded defeat in Seemandhra (Andhra Pradesh), a day before the counting of votes scheduled on Friday, blaming it on the bifurcation of the State and “some mistakes” committed by it.
“The bifurcation ‘sin’ is attributed only to the Congress by one and all, though every political party in the State is responsible for it. Ultimately it’s the Congress which has to pay the price for dividing the State against the wish of majority people”, Botcha Satyanarayana, former president of AP Congress Committee, stated here on Thursday.
Some political and administrative mistakes had occurred in the Congress dispensation and the fault-finding would not serve any purpose now, he said. The party had to taste the worst-ever defeat in the urban and rural local bodies’ elections and the results were pointer to things to come in the Assembly/Parliament elections.
“The party’s position is unlikely to improve in the general elections and every Congress leader in the region should be prepared to witness the worst,” the former APCC chief said. It was a collective failure of the party leaders and they should accept the defeat, which was imminent, with humility and start working with the people again, Mr. Satyanarayana said.
Stating that it was almost clear now that either Telugu Desam Party or YSR Congress would come to power in Seemandhra, the Congress leader said whoever came to power should serve people according to the expectations. The two parties had made several un-implementable promises to woo voters but the electorate were appeared to have believed them, he felt.
He claimed that the Congress party had fulfilled all its pre-poll promises made in 2009 and it was the turn of either TDP or YSR Congress now to keep their word by implementing their manifestoes, however difficult it was, within 100 days of assuming power. He alleged that the two parties had made such promises out of their thirst for power and said the Congress had never longed for it.
As the Congress party’s role from now on would be that of an opposition, they would stand by the people and fight for their problems, Mr. Satyanarayana said.
