CPI wants Bhongir, Cong offers Khammam
HYDERABAD: Though the CPI has more or less clinched a deal with the Congress on the number of seats it would contest, there appears to be some problem with regard to which seats should be allotted to the CPI.
After prolonged discussions on seat-sharing exercise in Delhi, Telangana Congress president Ponnala Lakshmaiah, N Uttam Kumar Reddy and C Damodara Rajaranarsimha felt one Lok Sabha and nine Assembly seats to the CPI would be reasonable. Ponnala Lakshmaiah returned to Hyderabad from Delhi to fine tune talks with the CPI and accordingly held talks with CPI state secretary K Narayana.
But the problem that is defying a solution is the CPI's demand for seats currently held by the Congress. The CPI has sought three Lok Sabha seats ' Bhongir, Nalgonda and Khammam'and 12 Assembly seats.
The Congress was ready to offer Khammam since the seat is now represented in the Lok Sabha by the TDP. But when it comes to Bhongir or Nalgonda, they are held by it and it is not ready to sacrifice them.
But the Left party is fixated on Bhongir ' notwithstanding its demand for Khammam and Nalgonda. CPI leader Puvvada Nageswara Rao would most likely be the candidate for the Khammam seat.
According to sources, there would also be a problem as far as Assembly seats are concerned since the CPI is seeking some seats held by the Congress.
They include Narsapur, Husnabad, Pinapaka, Devarakonda, Ibrahimpatnam and Maheswaram. For instance, former minister Sunitha Lakshma Reddy represents Narsapur while Maheswaram is held by another former minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy.
Though the Congress was supposed to release its first list of candidates on Friday, the exercise might take some more time as both the parties have not yet come to an understanding on which seats they should be contesting in alliance.
This apart, according to sources, the hope the Congress still has that TRS might after all come to the negotiation table for an alliance has not yet died down. This is another reason for not announcing the list.
But indications are the relations between the TRS and the Congress are on the rocks. TRS leader Harish Rao made it crystal clear on Friday that they will have no alliance.
News Posted: 29 March, 2014
|
