Hyderabad: The support extended by the Congress and the Telugu Desam to the CPI sponsored All India Trade Union Congress (Aituc) for the Singareni Employees Union elections, has led to speculation that it could be the stepping stone for an Opposition alliance against the ruling TRS for the 2019 elections.
Congress sources did not rule out such a possibility. The Congress had an alliance with the CPM and the CPI earlier. chances are that the TD may be included in the run up to the elections.
TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said, “We cannot say anything at this stage. Normally, alliances are decided at the AICC level. If some like-minded parties appro-ach us, we will convey it to the AICC.”
Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy and TD working president Revanth Reddy had attended Wednesday’s joint press conference and announced their support for the Aituc.
The Congress sponsored Indian Trade Union Congress (In-tuc) and Aituc had entered into an agreement at the national level regarding Singareni. Eyebrows were raised when the TD-sponsored TNTUC, without any such agreement, extended its support to the Aituc.
Mr Revanth Reddy had held preliminary talks with Mr Uttam Kumar Reddy a few months ago about possible seat adjustments.
Speaking to this newspaper on Thursday, Mr Revanth Reddy said, “Any alliance or adjustments will be decided by our party president Chandrababu Naidu. We extended support to Aituc and not the Congress.”
He said it was common for the Opposition to work together on some issues. “I cannot say that we are going to have seat adjustments with the Congress in the elections; it is too early”
TD sources said that the party may join hands with the Congress to fight against the TRS. “We consider the TRS our main enemy. We had a 10 per cent vote share in each Assembly seat in Telangana. If we contest alone, it will be a waste. If we form an alliance with like-minded parties, it may help us in our fight to dislodge the TRS,” a TD leader said.
Though the TD was formed primarily as an anti Congress party, there is no point in opposing the Congress which was in the Opposition. “We have asked Mr Naidu to allow us to formulate a different strategy to unseat the TRS. We hope we will get the nod from him,” a senior leader said.
