At a recent meet, Amit Shah had warned the BJP cadre of TRS warming up to Congress before the LS polls.
NEW DELHI: Though the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) has fought bitterly against the Congress in Assembly elections in Telangana, there are murmurs among TRS leaders that an alliance between the two parties for coming general elections is possible.
Speculation of the two parties coming together is not entirely baseless. In a meeting held recently, BJP leader Amit Shah, known as the chief strategist of the saffron dispensation, had dropped an important message to its leaders in the Telangana unit. According to sources, Shah had warned the state cadre of TRS warming up to Congress before the Lok Sabha elections. A party leader quoted Shah as saying, “TRS and Congress could come together in the coming general elections. The party must be ready for that.”
As both the Congress and TRS claim to be sincerely fighting against the BJP, they have asserted to do whatever they can to edge out the saffron party from power. However, there have been no talks between the two parties to settle for an alliance in order to constitute a united front against the BJP. However, the top leaders of the TRS, according to sources, are resenting its decision to induct the 12 Congress MLAs which it had allowed after the Congress’ loss in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The party leaders say that the defections that occurred in the grand old party will let the anti-incumbency votes slip into BJP’s coffers. A TRS leader said, “We had wrongly inducted the Congress MLAs which has now caused a suspicion among people towards the Congress. Voters think if they elect a Congress candidate, he may later join the TRS or other parties. That impression has made the TRS more cautious as the anti-incumbency vote which would have gone to the Congress vote bank will now slip into the BJP’s vote bank, giving the saffron party more strength.” Talking to The Sunday Guardian, Congress Legislature Party leader, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, called the speculation of alliance foolish and wishful thinking. He further added that the buying and selling of MLAs has become a nationwide phenomenon, suggesting defections have caused no damage to the grand old party.
Is Nitish Kumar factor working?
Sources in the JDU clarified that Nitish Kumar, who has ventured out to convince all the opposition parties to back the Congress party in coming Lok Sabha elections, is getting a good response.
However, JDU leaders refused to point out the response from the AAP, which is bitterly fighting against the Congress and TRS which has fervently tried to dislodge the existence of its main opposition Congress, in Telangana. The top leaders across the party lines, according to sources, believe that there is still enough time to formulate an electoral strategy to dismount the BJP. It is believed by TRS leaders that KCR could go soft on the Congress to help it dislodge the BJP, as he has, time and again, showed wild disagreement against the saffron party.
Insiders also claim that KCR has been cheerless in having helped the national ruling party in the past. “He resents decisions where he backed the saffron party,” a TRS leader said.
Congress already left out in UP?
Uttar Pradesh being the most prominent state in case of general elections, and Samajwadi Party being the main opposition party in the state, is eyeing to grab considerable Lok Sabha seats. However, sources close to Akhilesh Yadav indicated, there would be no pre-poll alliance with neither the Bahujan Samaj Party or with the Congress. It is believed in the SP camp that if BSP becomes active, it will directly help the party by cutting BJP’s vote bank. BSP had earlier helped the saffron party covertly by fielding candidates capable of damaging SP candidates’ victory. “Mayawati’s fielding of candidates had eventually impacted the SP’s electoral prospects,” an SP leader said.
In the midst of uniting the opposition parties, there are less substantive claims of a section of Congress that the Mayawati-led BSP may soon engage with the Congress to stitch an alliance before the national elections. “If she gets sufficiently convinced that the opposition camp could win, she would tie up with the Congress to escape the pressure of the Enforcement Directorate,” a Congress leader said. Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats and plays a decisive role in the formation of the central government.