After all this hype and hoopla, the Telangana statehood dream may not become a reality before the next general elections.
The indications to this effect are already available.
According to intelligence reports, the Congress is all set for a rout in the coming round of Assembly elections in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The results will be out on December 8.
Soon after that, the entire political scene will undergo massive change. the UPA leadership will be pushed into the defensive.
Its calculations on bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh will also undergo change.
The earlier calculation was that if Telangana is formed, the ruling party will sweep the Lok Sabha elections in the new state and the numbers will come in handy for the party to form the government at the Centre.
With the latest indications and the poll results in the four crucial states sealing the party's fate, it will no longer give importance to creation of Telangana state.
It seems the UPA leadership is already preparing the ground for putting the Telangana issue on the back-burner once again by giving nod for Rayala Telangana state.
It knows pretty well that such a proposal will be strongly resisted not only by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) but also by the Congress leaders and other organisations in Telangana.
The Seemandhra leaders and people will also oppose it tooth and nail. Whenever a bill for creation of Rayala Telangana state is put to vote in Assembly or in Parliament, it is bound to be defeated as the elected representatives from Telangana and large parts of Seemandhra are bound to vote against it.
What purpose will it solve other than the perceived political advantage and the benefit of splitting state into two equal halves with 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats each?
Since the idea will be opposed by all sides of the political spectrum, the issue may well be pushed into the deep freezer once again.
After December 8, the Congress leadership will have lot of things to worry about to improve its image and work for the general elections which are hardly five months away. Another disturbing signal is that the bifurcation bill is not on the agenda of the winter session of the Parliament which will conclude on December 20.
The BJP, which is the principal opposition party waiting in the wings to come to power, will oppose convening of the special session to take up the AP Re-organisation Bill.
