Congress may ‘get’ 42 MPs from Telangana, AP

Hyderabad: The Congress high command wants to get non-UPA parties on its side before the Lok Sabha results are out. The Congress high command is eyeing the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) in Telangana state and the YSR Congress in AP.

In the present political circumstances after the Lok Sabha elections, the NDA led by the BJP or the the UPA led by the Congress may form the government at the Centre. Mr Reddy has openly announced several times that his party will support whoever grants special category status to AP at the Centre, though the popular speculation was that he had an understanding with the BJP.

If the YSRC comes to power in AP, Mr Reddy’s main task will be to achieve special status for AP. The BJP has announced that it is not possible to grant special status to AP or to any other state. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has stated that if the party is voted to power at the Centre, the first file to be signed would be granting special status to Andhra Pradesh after formation of government.

If the Congress gives a written commitment on granting special status to AP, Mr Reddy may have no problem to support the UPA led by Congress. If the TRS and the YSRC agree to support the UPA it will get 42 MPs from both Telugu states.