Is Telangana heading for a hung Assembly?

Hyderabad: Political developments in the last few days have triggered a debate on whether or not Telangana is heading for a hung Assembly in the general elections.

What started with Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao heaping praise on the previous United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre and then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in the Assembly, picked up momentum after Congress MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Monday told mediapersons in New Delhi that the state would end up with a hung Assembly. He went on to state that the BRS would be left with no option but to support the Congress which, he said, would secure some 40 seats and form government.

All the three parties — the Congress, the BRS and the BJP — were quick to dismiss the possibility and claimed that they would capture power on their own.

The BJP dubbed the CM’s Assembly speech as a clear indication of an alliance between the BRS and the Congress.

“After the CM’s speech, Left leaders, who are aligning with the BRS, extended solidarity to PCC chief A. Revanth Reddy by taking part in a Congress programme. The AIMIM already has a secret pact with the BRS,” said BJP leader N.V. Subash adding that the CM was desperately attempting to forge a pre-poll alliance with the Congress, the Left and the MIM.

During a media interaction in Delhi,  Venkat Reddy said none of the political parties would cross 60 seats in the Assembly elections. “There will be a hung Assembly and with 40-50 seats Congress will stake claim and BRS will have no option but to support the secular Congress,” Venkat Reddy said. “KCR with his clear intent praised the Congress and Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh and degraded the BJP.” The Congress MP, however, dismissed the claim that a pre-poll pact would benefit the BJP.

Congress leaders distanced the party from the statements and felt that this kind of talk would demoralise cadres and, besides confusing the voters, would give advantage to the BJP. PCC working president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud said Venkat Reddy had only aired his personal views and the party had nothing to do with it.

TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy left it to the high command to look into the MP’s comments and referred to the Warangal Declaration in which party former president Rahul Gandhi had categorically spoken against pre-poll alliances.

Sangareddy MLA T. Jagga Reddy while also referring to Rahul Gandhi’s statements that the party would not enter into an alliance and that it would go it alone in TS, said that it was up to the national leadership to take a call. He recalled the understanding between the BJP and the BRS and the support that Rao had extended to the BJP at the national level in recent years.