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TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao ‘to back’ Jagan Reddy in Andhra assembly elections
KCR, as Rao is popularly know, cannot have an alliance with the YSRCP as he has no presence in Andhra Pradesh, according to TRS leaders. But TRS will “take active part” in electioneering in Andhra, they said.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao will throw his weight behind YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief, YS Jaganmohan Reddy, in Andhra Pradesh assembly elections due this year as part of his attempts to remove chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from power.
KCR, as Rao is popularly know, cannot have an alliance with the YSRCP as he has no presence in Andhra Pradesh, according to TRS leaders. But TRS will “take active part” in electioneering in Andhra, they said.
A TRS leader said KCR wants “to decimate” the TDP in Andhra as he has done in Telangana. KCR wants to ensure that Naidu does not succeed in his attempt to form the proposed grand alliance at the national level to remove the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power, the leader added.
Naidu has met Opposition leaders like the Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati to forge the grand alliance since he quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in March last year.
The TRS leader said KCR, who swept back to power in Telangana in December winning 88 seats in the 119-member state assembly even as Naidu allied with the Congress in the state, aims to make TRS an insignificant force. He added KCR wants to do so to ensure his stature goes up at the national level.
KCR, who has promised a “return gift” for Naidu, last month met West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Odisha counterpart, Naveen Patnaik, as part of his efforts to form a non-Congress, non-BJP front at the national level.
KCR wants Naidu’s challenger, Reddy, to become a part of his front, according to TRS leaders aware of the thinking within the party. He expects YSRC to get 15 to 20 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra. TRS hopes to bag 15 out of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana. With 30-35 seats together, the two can play a bigger role at the Centre.
The YSRCP indirectly supported the TRS by not fielding its candidates in the December 7 polls in Telangana. In several constituencies, YSRCP leaders campaigned for the TRS.
YSRCP workers celebrated KCR’s victory in Andhra Pradesh. When KCR visited Visakhapatnam on December 23, YSRCP put up hoardings and banners with his pictures and cut-outs to welcome him.
