Denying the claims of Congress that the BJP and TRS were in some kind of post-poll agreement, the party on Monday has stated that it will not join hands with TRS if the party falls short of seats to win the majority in the upcoming assembly elections.
The Telangana BJP spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao has challenged the Congress to give a similar “guarantee.” Lately, the Congress has repeatedly alleged that the caretaker Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was a “stooge” of the BJP and the two parties have a “tacit understanding” in the upcoming Assembly poll.
AICC in-charge of Telangana affairs R C Khuntia was quoted by PTI as saying, “There is 100 per cent tactical understanding between the TRS and BJP”.
Ina counter attack to this, Krishna Saagar Rao said, “I have a challenge for (TPCC President) Uttam Kumar Reddy and (Congress President) Rahul Gandhi. Will you guarantee the people of Telangana that if KCR (Caretaker CM of Telangana) falls short of winning that you (Congress) will not help.”
He further said, “We (BJP) can assure you that we will not. Even if the TRS falls short, that BJP will not, no matter how many seats we get, we will not form a government with TRS. We can assure you that”.
The TRS had earlier supported NDA candidates in the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections. KCR led TRS also approved of the government’s decision to impose GST and demonetization which apparently gave rise to the conjecture of both the parties supporting each other.
BJP had fought the 2014 Assembly elections in alliance with the TDP, winning five seats in the 119-member House. This time both the parties are going to contest the elections alone.
Meanwhile, TRS leaders have also rejected allegations of Congress regarding any tacit electoral understanding with the BJP.
TRS will not align with any other party, much less the national political parties (BJP and Congress),” TRS deputy floor leader in Lok Sabha, B Vinod Kumar told PTI.
Another senior BJP leader said, “KCR understands that BJP wants him to be neutral and not go to Congress-led alliance at the national level”.
Assembly polls in Telangana are scheduled to be held on December 7 and counting would be held on December 11. The 119-member Assembly was dissolved almost eight months prior to its completion on the recommendation of CM KC Rao.