Even the most optimistic Congress supporter is not hopeful of the party’s victory in Seemandhra, given the public anger in the area over the bifurcation decision. But, what is more disconcerting for the ruling party is that it faces the prospect of being pushed into the third place in the region in the next elections.

The experience in the big States like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and others show that whenever the Congress was pushed into the third or fourth position, it never come back to power as the party found itself squeezed out by the dominant regional players. A repeat of this humiliation now stares in the face of Congress in Seemandhra where YSR Congress Party and Telugu Desam Party appear to be the dominant players. The conventional wisdom says that once the Congress is reduced to a minor player, it can never stage a comeback.