Congress leaders from the Telangana region are planning to meet party president Sonia Gandhi in the next few days after the humiliating defeat in the recent byelections in Andhra Pradesh.
“All Congress leaders from Telangana are committed to separate state demand. Sonia Gandhiji is presently out of the country. She is in the US. We will meet her either on Monday or Tuesday,” K. Keshav Rao, a senior party leader and Rajya Sabha member, told reporters here.
The senior leader said he met Congress MPs from non-Telangana regions in a bid to persuade them to agree to the separate statehood demand. Mr Rao, who did not favour the Congress contesting the byelections, said the sentiment in favour of a separate Telangana is very strong in the region.
“Hindi-speaking people live in five different states in the country. Similarly, we can live as one large Telugu family in two separate states. Family would remain. But let our culture and traditions be respected,” he said.
Meanwhile, several Congress leaders, including ministers and MPs, met party’s state unit president D. Srinivas. Mr Srinivas need not quit as PCC president as the party lost the elections due to the “Telangana sentiment” and not because of any inefficiency on his part, some of the leaders said.
The TRS retained all 11 seats it had contested and the BJP retained one in the byelections held for 12 Assembly seats after legislators in the Telangana region resigned in support of the separate statehood demand.