Telangana alliance woes reach Delhi

Telangana Jan Samiti chief M Kodandaram on Friday brought his alliance woes to Delhi and met Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to bargain for more seats in the state Assembly elections where the Opposition is taking on the K Chandrasekar Rao-led TRS.

The alliance is facing tough time as the TJS is demanding 17 seats while the Congress is only ready to part with 8 seats.

Kodandaram is learnt to have raised his concerns about seats in the elections and is pitching for a prominent role citing his active participation in the separate Telangana struggle.

The TJS leader said that he has demanded 17 seats.

Sources said that Rahul on Thursday chaired a meeting of party leaders to discuss Telangana and formulate a strategy.

Congress plans to contest 95 seats in the elections leaving the rest 24 to junior partners.

It is offering TDP 14 and CPI two. TJS wants 15 and CPI 5 while TDP is also looking for more seats.

Sources said that the Congress may give up some seats for the partners but the choice of seats will be another stumbling block.

Sources in CPI said they are confident of getting the five seats but the seats being offered are not of its choice.

CPI leaders have also conveyed to the Congress leadership that they should not drag the issue and finalise it soon.

For the Opposition, smaller parties led by CPM has formed ‘Bahujan Left Front’, which has revloutionary poet Gaddar and actor Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party among others as allies, and has refused to join the Congress-led efforts.

In between, Kalyan has also met BSP chief Mayawati recently.

Taking on the CPM, CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said that the stand taken at the Hyderabad Party Congress was that it will join hands with all secular parties, including Congress, to defeat the BJP.

"Unfortunately, the CPM has taken a different stand...," he said on Monday.

CPM Telangana secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram said there are no similarities between the policies of TJS and CPI and those of Congress and TDP.

"There is no point in TJS and CPI going along with the grand alliance. They should better rethink and come and join us," he said on Wednesday