KHAMMAM: With the sole objective of defeating the BJP, the Left parties have decided to join hands with the ruling BRS in the upcoming Assembly elections in the State. But the questions being raised in the political circles are: Will the CPI and the CPM be able to dictate terms to the BRS? Can these parties make Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao agree to a seat-sharing deal where they can contest the segments which were once considered their bastions?
It is very unlikely that the BRS will agree to any pre-poll seat-sharing agreement with the Left parties. If sources in the ruling party are to be believed, it may offer MLC and/or some nominated posts to these parties. A senior BRS leader, on the condition of anonymity, said that the party’s high command is contemplating offering MLC and/or some nominated posts to both CPI and CPM.
“There is stiff competition in the BRS itself. There are multiple aspirants for BRS tickets in all 10 Assembly constituencies in the erstwhile Khammam district. There is no possibility of Left parties getting an opportunity to contest any of these segments under an alliance agreement. The leadership is, in fact, thinking of offering MLC and/or some nominated posts to them,” he said.
It may be mentioned here that the CPM and CPI leaders are hopeful of contesting from Kothagudem, Palair, Wyra, Madhira and Bhadrachalam Assembly segments in erstwhile Khammam district as part of their alliance with the BRS.CPI State Secretary Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao is hoping to contest from Kothagudem and CPM State Secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram from Palair. They have been touring these constituencies and interacting with the people.
Meanwhile, the CPI has planned to conduct a massive public meeting in Kothagudem town on June 11 as part of its preparations for the upcoming elections by mobilising over one lakh people.
Speaking to TNIE, CPI State leader B Hemantha Rao said: “Our talks with the BRS are still in the initial stages. We cannot say anything at this juncture. But, we are very clear about what we want. If BRS offers MLC or nominated posts, we will surely reject such an offer, and we’ll contest the elections on our own.”
A few CPM leaders this newspaper spoke to echoed his views and said that their party will also contest the elections on their own if no pre-poll seat-sharing agreement is reached with the BRS.