Hyderabad, June 10: The Congress and TDP are playing a game of ‘pehle aap’ (you first) on refraining from contesting the forthcoming byelections to 12 constituencies in Telangana. But insiders say that both parties are certain to join the fray.
The TRS is cutting no ice with its insinuation to the two parties that the seats morally belong to it because its incumbents vacated them for the cause of separate statehood. There were clear signals that both parties are getting ready for the bypolls.
Pradesh Congress Committee chief D Srinivas called on chief minister K Rosaiah at the latter’s camp office today and discussed the strategy for the byelections.
Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu too held meetings with party seniors both at his residence in the morning and the party office in the evening.
On the other hand, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao held parleys with party functionaries to discuss the latest political situation and the byelections. With the Congress strongly indicating that it will contest the byelections, the political situation in Telangana is slowly warming up again.
The TDP seems to have fired the first shot in the campaign, blaming the TRS of forcing yet another election on the people.
According to sources, the Congress is going to contest all the seats going to the bypolls, while the TRS will be in the fray for all the other segments, except the Nizamabad Urban seat, where it is reported having a tacit understanding with the Congress.
The TDP too is planning to contest all the 12 seats, with the hope of wresting a couple from the TRS.
The BJP has already decided to field its candidate in Nizamabad, which was vacated by its MLA in support of the Telangana agitation. Honouring the decision taken by the TJAC, BJP will not contest the other 11 segments despite having a sizeable base there. The BJP has decided not to support TRS candidates in the other segments and its votes may prove crucial in deciding the fate of the contesting candidates.
However, the party strategies may pale into insignificance in the face of the Telangana sentiment. Students of various Telangana universities are likely to campaign voluntarily in the byelections.
–Agencies