DS discussed Cong poll strategy over T?

Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president of Andhra Pradesh D Srinivas on Tuesday met Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi here.

 After about half-an-hour’s deliberations with the party president, Srinivas told newspersons that he had discussed the plan of action for the upcoming bye-elections that are taking place in the Telangana region. There are 12 seats in the region which fell vacant after the legislators resigned over the Telangana statehood row.

 Srinivas who lost to BJP contestant Y. Lakshminarayana in Nizamabad Urban seat in 2009 is drawing flak for his approach towards bye-polls. With some words of wisdom from Sonia Gandhi he seeks to make a difference at least this time.

 Srinivas had recently stated that even if Congress wins a couple of seats from the Telangana region, it will be able to reduce the impact of TRS in the region.

 Meanwhile, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, which has been confident of winning the bypolls all these months, is now finding it difficult to take the polls lightly. The decision by the Congress and the Telugu Desam to enter the fray has forced the party to chalk out a counter strategy.

 TRS state leadership and the district leaders are, for the record, expressing full confidence of retaining their Assembly seats in the bypolls. But party sources said they do not consider it a cakewalk anymore with the Congress fielding D. Srinivas and former minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir in Nizamabad urban and Yellareddy constituencies respectively.