HYDERABAD: Are Congress and BSP trying to strike an alliance in the next Assembly elections? Political observers think so, especially in the wake of AICC secretary SA Sampath Kumar meeting BSP State president RS Praveen Kumar in the Alampur Assembly constituency on Monday.
According to sources, there were talks between BSP and Congress for a long time. In addition to it, Sampath Kumar took the negotiations forward with the knowledge of party high command, and TPCC chief A Revanth Reddy.
The meeting between Sampath and Praveen, who hail from the same community and same Assembly constituency (Alampur), lasted for more than one-and-a-half hours at the former’s residence in Shanthinagar town of Alampur constituency on the latter’s initiation for a meeting. This development comes at a time when some Congress leaders believe that the grand old party’s prospects would be positively affected if such an alliance is worked out.
They are of the opinion that more than BSP, it is Praveen Kumar factor that may influence voting in each segment “Praveen can influence a section of Dalit community voters. If BSP goes alone and if that influence translates into votes, around 2,000 to 5,000 votes would be split in each constituency and it would damage the prospects of Congress,” said a senior Congress leader on condition of anonymity.
When contacted by TNIE, Sampath said that the details of the meeting would be revealed at an appropriate time. The BSP has its own loyal voters in several constituencies. For example, in the Munugode byelection, held in November last year, its candidate secured 4,146 votes to finish fourth, a big improvement from 2018 polls, where its candidate finished eighth with 738 votes. However, it remains to be seen if that reputation will ‘influence’ the grand old party to strike an alliance with the BSP.