Total unity is the only survival mantra for the Cong in TS!

With a slender majority of only six seats in the Telangana State Assembly, the Congress government being led by Revanth Reddy may be in for many challenges, politically and financially. In a sense, it will be a tightrope walk for him as he will have to strategically balance internal and external challenges.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi, as a strong opposition party, will utilise every opportunity to corner the government on many issues, particularly the much-publicised six guarantees. As the Congress leadership itself had underlined during the election campaign, the state of Telangana is debt-ridden. In this precarious financial situation, from where the Congress government will bring the funds required to translate the six guarantees into reality is a question that has no immediate answer.
Revanth Reddy is the first Chief Minister from the Congress party without any administrative and ministerial experience. This may come in handy for the opposition BRS to taunt the new government unless the Congress leadership acts in unison by jettisoning internal bitterness among those who had missed the chief minister’s post. It is a fact that the Congress could come to power due to the unflinching and dedicated efforts of Revanth Reddy and the party’s high command acted sensibly by crowning Revanth Reddy. The Congress party’s state leaders must keep in mind the facts and the compulsions involved and solidly stand by the new Chief Minister, come what may. The situation would have been different had the Congress won more than eighty seats, allowing it to enjoy unquestionable majority. But, with a margin of just six seats, keeping the majority intact is essential for the survival of the new government. For this to happen, the new Chief Minister must consult even the disgruntled leaders who had aspired for the chief minister post in vain, not only to strengthen the party but also to not give any scope for the opposition BRS to fish in troubled waters.
For the Congress, it is a much-deserved chance to govern the state as, after all, it was the party that had granted Telangana in the first place. The golden opportunity that the people of the state have given it should not be squandered due to internal squabbles. Other parties in the state are ready to embarrass the government by taking advantage of its slender margin. There will always be scope for it, given the political maneuvering ability of BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao. He may be silent for now, but if the opportunity comes, he will never hesitate to make use of it. Over two terms, the KCR govt enjoyed a rock-solid majority and even now its number in the opposition is not such a weak one: including BJP’s eight members and MIM’s seven members, the total opposition strength is around 54. The difference between the ruling and opposition is only 10 members. Given the razor-thin majority, there will be a ruthless onslaught on the government by the combined opposition. In this kind of precarious situation, the Congress govt has to take each step carefully so that no room is left for the opposition’s combined attack. Apart from maintaining internal unity, the new Chief Minister has to be more careful about implementing the given promises, which involve hundreds of crores of rupees. With the debt burden looming large, it will be a herculean task for the Chief Minister to be able to fulfil them so as not to give any scope for criticism.
Total unity is the only mantra for the Congress government to sustain itself. It is incumbent upon the Congress leaders to shed any kind of dissatisfaction and work unitedly for the success of the government just as they had worked during the campaign to bring the party to power. Everyone has to stand by the new Chief Minister in fulfilling the agenda of the government and take it to the doorstep of the people. Aspirations for posts and positions can wait. The first and foremost responsibility of the leaders is to keep the government on a strong pedestal by standing behind it and lending a strong helping hand to the new leader. It is a long-awaited dream coming true for the Congress, which the grand old party should not lose at any cost.
Lastly, experience can be gained with time if the leader is ambitious and a visionary like Rajiv Gandhi who had no political and administrative experience before taking over the reins of prime ministership after the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Later, he proved his potential and gave India a vision for development and showed the path for progress.