A rift in the grand alliance, Mahakutami in Telangana before the state assembly elections becomes more evident, as the parties violated the seat-sharing deal in a state that sends 119 legislators.
Earlier, the major opposition in the state Indian National Congress joined hands with other three- Telugu Desam Party, TDP– Telangana Jana Samithi, TJS and the Communist Party of India (CPI) to form an alliance which is popularly known as Mahakutami in Telugu.
However as per the initial seat sharing, the major opposition, Congress will contest on the majority of seats in an assembly of 119 seats. The TDP will field its candidates in 14 seats, the TJS in 8 while CP in 3.
But it’s not at all a smooth sailing for the nascent alliance, with nomination procedure came to a halt on Monda, November 19. The Congress party, which is supposed to contest 94 as per seat sharing plan, gave the ticket to six more candidates in the constituencies allotted to the (TDP) and the Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS).
For instance, in Ibrahimpatnam constituency in Ranga Reddy district, Congress fielded former MLA Malreddy Ranga Reddy as its official candidate early on Monday. The seat was originally allotted to the TDP during seat sharing, which has fielded its official candidate Sama Ranga Reddy.
In Patancheru constituency in Sangareddy district, the Congress has fielded Kata Srinivas Goud, while the seat was originally allotted to the TDP. With no other option left, the Telugu Desam Party TDP has to opt out of the contest in the constituency, thereby reducing the number of seats it is contesting to 13, one down from 14.
Similarly, in Miryalguda, a seat originally allotted to the TJS, the Congress has fielded former TDP MLA and All India OBC Welfare Association (AIOWA) president R Krishnaiah as its candidate. Krishnaiah joined the Congress late on Sunday. The TJS has fielded its senior leader Vidyadhar Reddy from here.
In Dubbak, Medak and Warangal (East) constituencies, all allotted to TJS as a part of original seat sharing, Congress fielded Maddula Nageshwar Reddy, Upendra Reddy, and Vaddiraju Ravichandra respectively. While TJS has given tickets to Chindam Raj Kumar, Janardhan Reddy, and Gade Innaiah respectively.
The TJS has also fielded its candidates in Asifabad, Khanapur, and Chennur which were originally allotted to the Congress and also in Mahbubnagar and Ashwaraopet which have been allotted to the TDP. In all, the TJS has fielded its candidates in 12 constituencies, as against the original eight seats allotted to it.
According to a State Congress leader on the condition of anonymity told media that Congress was forced to field their candidates after the alliance partners choose not to back out of the contest. “All candidates in these 8 Constituency fields by TDP and TJS are very week and will lose the contest. Hence we have to nominate the strong candidates from our side” he said.
While the TJS President M Kodandaram condemned the Congress move and said that “it is quite unfortunate that Congress doesn’t respect the spirit of the alliance” he further hopes to resolve the issue before Nov 22 which is the last date to withdraw nomination for the upcoming polls.
The state with 119 seats will go for polls on December 7, and counting will take place on December 11 along with other state assembly elections.