New Delhi: The Congress party has decided to press for smaller states in a bid to counter the political challenge from Mayawati of the BSP besides the BJP.

The UPA government is studying the pros and cons of setting up a second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC). Sources said senior Congress leaders Pranab Mukherjee and Digvijay Singh are rooting for a second SRC.

Once the cabinet clears it, the commission will be set up. With the general elections looming and demands for statehood from several regions, the Congress feels the move can bring political dividends.

A senior party leader said even if nothing tangible comes out, the gesture of setting up a second SRC would send a positive signal to the sections demanding statehood.

Sources said the Congress would benefit the most in Uttar Pradesh, from where since 1989 the party has not touched double digits in the Lok Sabha. After the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance carved out of Uttarakhand from UP, there are demands for three more small states -Harit Pradesh (west), Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal.

As early as in 1954, an SRC member, KM Panicker, had submitted a dissenting note seeking the bifurcation of Uttar Pradesh. This was not accepted by the then Union cabinet. Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh, an ally of the UPA, has been championing Harit Pradesh.

BSP supremo Mayawati had earlier supported trifurcation of UP. These three regions of UP are most backward and separate statehood for speedy development is an emotive issue for the local people. Congress managers said division could also neutralise the BJP’s “emotive, communal” issues.

In Maharashtra, the Congress hopes to benefit by carving out a separate Vidharbha state. The region witnessed the maximum number of suicides by farmers and giving them a separate state could help neutralise anti-incumbency, Congress insiders feel. Mayawati had also promised a separate Vidharbha.

In Andhra Pradesh, the Telengana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), which had supported the UPA on the condition that a separate Telengana would be carved out, is now sulking as the UPA government failed to deliver on the promise. With Mayawati trying to poach in Andhra Pradesh and supporting a separate Telengana state, the Congress has also started talking in terms of a separate state.

Source : DNAIndia