Congress Proposes Broad-Based Alliance To Take On TRS In Telangana

The Congress plans will try to build a broad-based alliance in the Telangana assembly polls as it looks to forge opposition unity at the national level, a senior party leader said.

The party was trying to unite the opposition in the state and was in contact with all parties, including Communist Party of India, M. Kondaram's Telangana Jana Samithi, and the Telugu Desam Party, Congress affairs in-charge for Telangana R C Khuntia told PTI. “We are not averse to having an alliance with TDP.”

Citing the example of Karnataka, where Congress allowed Janata Dal (Secular) to take the chief minister's post despite having more number of seats, Khuntia said the idea in Telangana was in-line with it's efforts at the national level to unite the opposition. The proposal was however at a preliminary stage and seat-sharing had not yet been discussed, he added.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttam Kumar Reddy has already urged all political parties and non-political forces to join hands with Congress to ‘end the misrule' of Telangana Rashtra Samithi in the state. “There can only be TRS and anti-TRS blocks (other BJP) in the state,” Khuntia claimed.

Khuntia said Congress does not harbour any bitter feelings towards the TDP, a party that has always opposed it. He said the TDP opposed the National Democratic Alliance too, as seen in the no-confidence motion, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman election and the ‘Bharat Bandh' against the fuel price hike.

Congress would highlight the “failure” of TRS to implement its promises, including increasing reservations for minorities and schedule tribes and doubling bedroom housing for the poor, with door-to-door campaigns, Khuntia explained. It would also focus on what Congress wished to do in the event of coming to power, he said.

The assembly polls in Telangana were originally scheduled to be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections next year. However, the assembly was dissolved last week as per the recommendation made by the TRS government, necessitating elections ahead of schedule.