Why did KCR, who never gave an appointment in seven years to the Congress leaders, agree to meet them within ten minutes after the request was made? Why did a handful of Congress leaders rush to Pragathi Bhavan without even bothering to inform their colleagues in the party?
Remember BJP MLAs meeting KCR at Pragathi Bhavan soon after the 2018 elections were announced? That meeting has resulted in a disaster for the BJP, with just one MLA managing to win. Similarly, this meeting of the Congress leaders could end up in a blood bath for the Congress Party. Those in the know say that this was a set-up aimed at defeating Eatala Rajender in Huzurabad. The Congress will fall silent and will tacitly support the TRS to ensure the BJP defeat, they claimed.
At the same time, all those who met KCR are staunch opponents of Revanth Reddy, who is tipped to become the PCC chief for Telangana. So, Revanth Reddy will get a welcome with a Congress defeat in Huzurabad. This will have a demoralizing effect on both the cadre and the high command.
Expectedly, some Congress leaders, who were not kept in the loop, have already lodged a complaint with the Congress high command. They reportedly said that Mariyamma’s custodial death was not a big enough issue to meet the CM. Also, the issue was not discussed within the Congress Party. They pointed out that this meeting was aimed at helping KCR. They argue that by immediately announcing a job to Mariyamma’s kin and providing them with ex-gratia, KCR has scored a moral victory. He has simply robbed the Congress of an issue. At the same time, he has exposed the divisions within the Congress Party and further weakened it, they argued.