Poll pact brings new troubles to TDP, BJP

HYDERABAD: After resolving the issue of seat-sharing under an electoral alliance, both the Telugu Desam Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party appear to be headed for different kind of troubles.

Protests are continuing in both Telangana and Seemandhra against the electoral tie-up, by the aspirants who are likely to lose their seats to alliance partners.

Some others have begun competing with one another to get party nomination for Lok Sabha and Assembly segments, which they are sure of winning with the support of their alliance partner. There is a rush for winnable seats in the saffron party as well as the yellow party.

For instance, in BJP, party Telangana unit president G Kishan Reddy and party veteran Bandaru Dattatreya are at loggerheads for the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat as they reportedly believe that they can win the seat hands down with the backing of the TDP.

Though Kishan Redy, for the record, is saying he is not in the race for the Secunderabad LS seat, some leaders in the T-BJP say their party boss is putting in all-out efforts to contest the seat.

On the other hand, party veteran Bandaru Dattatreya, who had earlier represented the constituency, has even begun poll canvassing in Secunderabad, hoping that he would be the party candidate for the seat.

Similar is the situation in TDP. Several Telangana TDP leaders are making a beeline to party cheif N Chandrababu Naidu demanding seats in and around GHMC area, where the party can win easily with the backing of the BJP.

According to sources, the following are the Lok Sabha/Assembly seats that the yellow party had agreed to give BJP.

LS Seats in Telangana: Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Mahbubnagar, Bhongir, Medak and Warangal.

LS Seats in Seemandhra: Visakhapatnam, Rajampet, Tirupati, Narsapur and Araku. The BJP has demanded Vijayawada too, but the TDP refused to give it.

Assembly seats in Seemandhra: Gajapathinagaram, Narsannapet, Visakhapatnam North, Paderu, Rajolu, Rajahmundry Urban, Tadepalligudem, Vijayawada Central, Narasaraopeta, Santanutalapadu, Kadapa Urban, Nellore Rural, Madanapalli, Rajampeta and Anantapuram Urban.

Assembly seats in Telangana: Chennur, Mancherial, Adilabad and Mudhole (Adilabad dist); Yellareddy and Nizamabad Urban (Nizamabad dist); Korutla, Dharmapuri (SC), Ramagundam, Vemulawada, Husnabad and Siricilla (Karimnagar dist); Sangareddy and Dubbaka (Medak dist); Malkajgiri and Uppal (Ranga Reddy dist); Mahbubnagar Urban, Nagarkurnool, Kalwakurthy and Shadnagar (Mahbubnagar dist); Nalgonda town, Alair and Munugode (Nalgonda dist); Warangal East, Warangal West, Jangaon and Bhupalapalle (Warangal dist); Pinapaka (Khammam dist); and Amberpet, Musheerabad, Goshamahal, Khairathabad, Malakpet and Karwan (Hyderabad district).

Negotiations are going on for the remaining 13 seats.

Seats Refused

The following are the seats which the BJP wanted, but turned down by the TDP: LB Nagar, Patancheru, Medchal, Maheswaram, Suryapet, Makthal, Peddapalli, Bodhan and Nizamabad Rural.

BJP Telangana unit chief G Kishan Reddy is understood be very much angry at the TDP leadership for not obliging to their demand for Assembly seats such as LB Nagar, Medchal and Maheswaram, which fall under GHMC area.

The BJP leadership thought that if it can field its candidates from these seats, in which Seemandhra settlers constitute a considerable numbers, it could win them easily with the support of the TDP.