Telangana: Congress may join hands with one-time rival TDP to take on TRS

The Congress is planning to go in for a broad-based alliance in the Telangana assembly polls, and even ready to tie up with one-time rival Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to take on K Chandrashekar Rao’s Telangana's ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

The party is in talks with parties such as CPI, Kondaram (of TJS) and TDP, AICC in-charge of Congress affairs in Telangana RC Khuntia said.

"We are not averse to having an alliance with TDP," he told PTI.

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The Congress cites Karnataka as an example where it had offered the JD(S) the chief minister's post despite having more number of seats.

"This is only the preliminary stage. We have not discussed seat sharing. But we are formulating a broad-based alliance, including the TDP also, on the basis of the common minimum programme," he told the news agency.

Interestingly, the TDP was founded in 1982 as an anti-Congress force. The TRS has emerged as the common enemy for both the parties.

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On 6 September. Rao recommended dissolving the legislative assembly.  The assembly polls in Telangana were originally scheduled to be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections next year.

“The alliance is going to happen and a formal announcement can be expected soon. More than us, the TDP needs it; else, they lose a chance to stay relevant in the political scenario in the coming elections,” said a Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) office-bearer, who did not want to be identified, told Mint.

The PTI added that Congress president Rahul Gandhi would be urged to address a public meeting in at least 10 places in the state and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi would also be requested to participate in the campaign.