HYDERABAD: A grand alliance of several parties, including arch-rivals Congress and TDP, is taking shape in the state. But, is it all that grand as it appears to be? Maybe not, feel political analysts.
The alliance is bound to cause friction and great animosities among the parties, particularly their chiefs.
Their camaraderie and mutual accommodation will be put to test when all the parties contend for one particular Assembly seat or the other.
This will be evident in the case of Kodada, coveted by TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy’s wife, Telangana TDP president L Ramana’s Jagtial and CPI state secretary Chada Venkatareddy’s Husnabad constituencies. Will the chiefs of the respective parties forgo their seats?
As of now, the Congress, the TDP and the CPI have decided to form into Grand Alliance and initiated the dialogue process on Tuesday. Efforts are on to rope in Kodandaram’s Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) also into the alliance, which is likely to aggravate the problem of seat adjustments among the parties.
As for seat sharing, reaching an agreement on the number of seats each party will contest may be very difficult. Of the 119 Assembly seats, the Congress wants to contest 90, leaving just 29 for all other alliance partners put together. But the TDP is demanding 40 seats, which the Congress may not accept. The CPI wants to contest 16 or 17 seats. If the TJS joins the alliance, it may stake claim for 10 to 15 seats. More the partners, tighter will be the knot.
CPI state secretary Chada Venkata Reddy made it clear that the CPI would not leave the Husnabad seat to the Congress this time. “Last time, the CPI gave up Husnabad seat in consideration for the Congress. But, this time, the CPI will contest it. Otherwise, the very existence of the Communist party will be threatened,” Venkata Reddy said. He, however, suggested that the allies adopt a “give and take” policy and not to be adamant about seats. He claimed that the CPI was strong in Kothagudem, Pinakapak and Wyra constituencies in Khammam district. “We may leave Pinapaka and Wyra to other parties but we will insist on Kothagudem for us,” he declared.
A senior Congress leader said that they would make some adjustments during the talks. “We may ask TDP’s E Paddireddy to contest from Kukatpally or another constituency,” he said on condition of anonymity.