For good show, Congress needs alliance

The Congress high-command’s assent notwithstanding, the Telangana issue might not find a smooth or quick resolution given the disparate voices within the party CM Kiran Reddy himself. Prasad Nichenametla reports.

The Congress high-command’s assent notwithstanding, the Telangana issue might not find a smooth or quick resolution given the disparate voices within the party CM Kiran Reddy himself.

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The resistance possibly stems from the fact that a creation of the new state does not guarantee votes for the Congress as it has never been identified as a pro-Telangana force.

There are 17 Lok Sabha seats and 118 assembly seats in the Telangana region.

“If Congress gives Telangana, people would happily vote for it in elections. But if the party expects a clean sweep, it would need an alliance with someone whose identity is 100% Telangana,” says Bandameedi Nagaraju, a research scholar from Osmania University.

And K Chandrasekhara Rao’s Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) would be such a potent ally.

“The credit, in terms of votes too, would be shared by TRS. Nobody can deny KCR the due for his struggle,” said Madabushi Sridhar, professor, NALSAR Law University.

The TDP also could expect to draw some assembly seats, given its pro-Telangana stand.