Modi, Sinha to be in Hyderabad on July 2

HYDERABAD: The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) is learnt to have invited joint Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha to Hyderabad for Presidential election campaign on July 2.

Interestingly, the date coincides with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's arrival in the city to take part in the BJP national executive meeting at HICC, Gachibowli.

Party sources said the TRS leadership had decided to hold a grand reception for Sinha in the city which will be attended by TRS working president and IT minister K.T. Rama Rao, Cabinet ministers, TRS MLAs and MPs. It is not clear whether TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao would attend this meeting though party sources claimed that the chances of the Chief Minister taking part in the event were more.

As part of his campaigning, Sinha will meet the TRS, the AIMIM and the Congress MLAs and MPs separately and seek their votes.

The TRS has decided to extend support to Yashwant Sinha in Presidential election after Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar spoke to Chandrashekar Rao over phone last week and sought his support. The Chandrashekar Rao deputed Rama Rao and TRS MPs to Delhi to extend support to Yashwant Sinha while filing his nomination papers on June 27.

While addressing the press conference in Delhi on June 27, Rama Rao said that the TRS had invited Yashwant Sinha to Hyderabad for campaigning.

Party sources said July 2 was finalised for Yashwant's campaign in Hyderabad and the same was conveyed to Sinha to which he agreed.

In the previous Presidential election in 2017, the TRS supported NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind and held a grand reception for him in the city which was attended by the Chief Minister, ministers, TRS MLAs and MPs.

However, in the changed political scenario in the state, especially after Huzurabad Assembly bypoll in November 2021, the TRS and the BJP have turned bitter political rivals.