VIJAYAWADA: The Congress in Andhra Pradesh , which is struggling for survival after the debacle in the 2014 elections, is facing yet another round of crash with senior leaders leaving the party. The party suffered heavily with its voters migrating to the YSR Congress and its leaders shifting to the BJP and TDP in the last elections, mostly because of the bifurcation.The last four years have given some breathing time for the party with the leaders signing the special category status rhyme all through and finally making party chief Rahul Gandhi to bat for the SCS. Now, the leaders are busy to breath some life into the party by organising the bus yatra from Ananthapur to Srikakulam and even roping in Rahul Gandhi to Tirupathi to address the people ahead of the elections.While the leaders are struggling to keep the party alive, its senior leaders are leaving the party now. The top leaders like former union ministers Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy and V Kishore Chandra Deo have already set the dates to leave the party and join the TDP. Before they could make their moves, another former Union minister from the Congress, Killi Kruparani quit the party and met YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy in Hyderabad on Tuesday. She said she would join the party on February 28 along with her supporters.The top layer of the leadership in the party is now almost washed out except for one or two leaders like M M Pallam Raju. What remains in the Congress now is the second layer, who have been waiting for these leaders either to retire or quit. “This is a great opportunity for the young leaders to come forward and work for the party. They have a chance to grab the opportunities. Nothing to worry about the leaders quitting the party as they have enjoyed the power for years,” quipped party general secretary Janga Gowtham, while speaking to TOI.Meanwhile, Kriparani, a former MP from Srikakulam, said she was impressed with the promises that Jaganmohan Reddy had made for the BCs in the State. “The promise to allocate Rs 15,000 crore for the BCs every year and 50 per cent share in nominated posts and contracts given on nomination basis will change the face of the BCs lives in the State,” she said. “Calling Backward Classes as Backbone Classes is something that reflects the concern of Jaganmohan Reddy,” the former Union Minister said.

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