T Congress MPs see no future with the party

HYDERABAD: At least five Congress MPs from Telangana are understood to be seriously exploring other options in the event of central leadership not conceding a Telangana state or deferring a decision, either of which is likely to erode the party prospects in the region.

Though the MPs are unlikely to take an immediate call on leaving the Congress, they are said to be holding consultations at various levels on the alternatives open to them in the event of their being forced into taking such a decision.

Among the MPs who may not hesitate to leave the Congress if a T state is not given are Ponnam Prabhakar (Karimnagar), G Vivek (Peddapalli), S Rajaiah (Warangal), Suresh Shetkar (Zaheerabad) and Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy (Bhongir). But, as of now, they are keeping their options close to their chest.

While a majority of the Congress MPs in Telangana are certain that their political career will be cut short in the event of a negative stance by the party on the statehood issue, what is holding them back for now is lack of space in other political parties, particularly the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

For instance, Ponnam Prabhakar will find it difficult to be accommodated from Karimnagar even if he joins the TRS as the latter will have to consider party old-timer and former MP Vinod Kumar, who incidentally lost to Ponnam in 2009. The other option for Ponnam is to contest for the Assembly and not Parliament.

In 2004, when he contested as an Independent from Karimnagar Assembly seat after being denied a ticket by the Congress, Prabhakar polled an impressive 20,000 plus votes though the official party nominee, M Satyanarayana Rao, still managed to win.

Prabhakar's predicament is not difficult to understand. A BC in a constituency dominated by Velama community since long, the going will be tough for him this time round even in a normal political situation. The T sentiment that built up after 2009 is only expected to add to his woes.

Like Prabhakar, Rajaiah too will have to face competition from former TRS minister G Vijayarama Rao, who was also an MP once. However, Vivek may find the transition easy in the event of his deciding to leave the party.

Some of the MPs, particularly those representing constituencies where the statehood sentiment is not strong, are also reportedly considering YSR Congress as an alternative destination.

A few of them are said to have commissioned fairly exhaustive surveys to get a feel of the people's mood and whether their chances would improve if they move to TRS or YSR Congress.

'Quite a few of us are first-time MPs and have a long political future ahead. While we would like to remain loyal to the party, we should also think of our own future,' one of the MPs said.

Indications are that the MPs might wait for developments to unfold during the upcoming winter session of Parliament when they plan to raise the T issue again and then sit together to decide their future course of action.

As if speaking for his counterparts in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha member Palvai Goverdhan Reddy on Saturday hoped that the party will take an early call on Telangana statehood, lest the MPs crossover to protect their political career.