It was a surprise for Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana, when Congress party president Sonia Gandhi made a sudden enquiry about the Telangana issue.

According to sources in New Delhi, Sonia sought to know why the party had failed miserably in Parkal assembly by-elections so much so that it had lost its deposit. She reminded that it was the PCC chief and the Chief Minister who had brought a new candidate from TDP into the Congress and got him the party ticket. She sought to know to what extent the Telangana sentiment worked in the Parkal by-polls.

The Chief Minister and the PCC president tried to explain that it was the sympathy factor for Konda Surekha, rather than the Telangana factor, that had worked in Parkal and that the Congress ranks had cross voted for the Telangana Rashtra Samithi which was why it could win the seat. She, however, was not convinced about their argument. Sources said she had certain plans in her mind about the Telangana issue and might take a decision soon.