Congress in a bind as regional parties play Andhra split card

State Congress leaders, however, are determined to put up a strong fight as they believe that the fortunes of the party can be revived in Seemandhra.

According to senior Congress leader and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Kishore Chandra Deo, the party has given several benefits for boosting the growth of Seemandhra region through the AP Reorganisation Act.

“Various measures for the development of Seemandhra have been incorporated in the Act,” he says.

However, TDP and JSP appear confident about upstaging Congress.

Vundavalli Aruna Kumar, Lok Sabha member from Rajahmundry seat who quit Congress and joined JSP, says that Congress is likely to pay a heavy price for bifurcating the state.  

“Not even one contestant fielded by Congress is going to win from Seemandhra this time. They (Congress) went ahead with bifurcation, despite the Andhra Pradesh Assembly rejecting AP Reorganisation Bill,” he claims.