HYDERABAD: With the Trinamool Congress (TMC) deciding to abstain, the spotlight is now on whether the TRS would support Margaret Alva, the joint Opposition candidate, in the election for the Vice-President or follow the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
Though, the TRS has not announced its stand so far, its decision will assume political significance. The TMC said that it has decided to abstain the Vice-President election scheduled for August 6 as the Opposition candidate was finalised without consulting it.
The TRS has been maintaining equidistance from both the BJP and the Congress, but the pink party had supported the candidature of joint Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in the presidential election.
Yashwant Sinha, who was with the TMC, had resigned from the party before filing his nomination papers. His association with the TMC was one of the reasons the TRS had supported his candidature.
Though AICC president Rahul Gandhi too was present along with TRS working president KT Rama Rao, when Sinha filed his papers for the presidential election, the TRS ruled out any truck with the Congress.
Now, the BJP announced Jagdeep Dhankhar as its Vice-President candidate.
The TRS, which is fighting against the policies of the BJP-led Central government, will not support Dhankhar, sources said.
On the other hand, the Opposition announced Alva as its joint candidate for Vice-President polls. While announcing her candidature NCP leader Sharad Pawar claimed that they had the support of 17 parties.
However, TRS MPs, who were present when Sinha filed his nomination, were conspicuous by their absence when Alva filed her papers.
The reason was that the TRS chief and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has not taken any decision with regard to the Vice-President election so far.
In the absence of any direction from the party and lack of approval from the party chief, TRS MPs did not attend Alva’s nomination.
Like Sinha, who raised a banner of revolt against the BJP top leadership, Alva too criticised some of the decisions of AICC president Sonia Gandhi in the past.
It remains to be seen whether the TRS, which has been maintaining equidistance from both the Congress and the BJP, consider Alva as a neutral candidate or the Congress candidate.
If the TRS consider Alva as neutral candidate like Sinha, then the pink party may support the candidature of Alva.
If the TRS considered Alva as Congress leader, the pink party may abstain from Vice-President elections.
The suspense will continue till Chandrasekhar Rao takes a decision on the Vice-President polls.