Seema-Andhra leaders now spar over new capital

Barely has the Congress managed to keep one faction in the party happy with the announcement on Telangana, it will have to deal with another crisis from Wednesday.

The Congress leaders from the Seema-Andhra region, who were all along united against the formation of Telangana, are now at war over the new capital.

The leaders of Rayalseema want the new capital to be in their new region while the Andhra leaders are demanding that they should have the say.

The leaders from the Andhra region are demanding that Vijayawada be made the new capital of the Seema-Andhra state. On the other hand, the leaders from Rayalseema feel that Kurnool should be made the capital.

The Congress is desperately trying to avoid this showdown and is proposing the sharing of a common capital -- Hyderabad -- for ten years. The leaders from all the three regions will be asked to sit together and sort out this issue.

Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, who will reach Hyderabad from New Delhi, will chair a meeting of the Seema-Andhra leaders on Wednesday and a decision on the future course of action would be taken.

The Congress leaders from both the regions would stay back in the government as they would want to be part of the transition process. They would want to have their say in any sort of bargain and hence may reconsider their decision to resign.

If the idea of sharing Hyderabad for ten years does not work out, then the Congress will have to arrive at a consensus for a new capital.

The proposal is to have a capital between Vijayawada and Guntur. This would be conveyed to the Seema-Andhra leaders during Wednesday’s meeting.

Image: The leaders from the Andhra region are now demanding that Vijayawada be made the new capital of the Seema-Andhra state.