TRS averse to merger, keen on alliance

Hyderabad: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) will, in all probability, forge an electoral alliance with the Congress instead of merging itself with the ruling party.

This is despite the assurance given by the sub-regional party in the past that it would merge with the Congress if the Statehood was granted for Telangana.

The changed political dynamics appear to have prompted the TRS to change its tactics and go for a tie-up instead of merger. Such an arrangement is also agreeable to the Congress central leadership.

According to sources, the Congress bosses have called TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao to Delhi soon for talks on poll alliance. KCR has told some of his close confidants that he had received a call from Congress central leaders, asking him to come to Delhi for talks.

'The senior leaders have cautioned the TRS president against committing himself to merger since the surveys are indicating that the party's popularity graph is on the high,' TRS sources said.

It is said that KCR will maintain a strategic silence till the Assembly completes the ongoing debate on the draft Telangana bill. He would place his cards on the table only after the completion of the debate in the Assembly, sources said.

The TRS supremo has been keeping himself away from public limelight and skipping various programs organized by the Telangana outfit.

Though he was invited for several programmes, including the diary release functions by different organisations, he stayed away from all of them in order to avoid sending out any negative signals to Delhi, a party leader said. Sources said that KCR is likely to visit Delhi only after January 23.

"Senior leaders have told KCR not to commit himself to merger since surveys suggests that the party's popularity graph is on the high"

The party leaders have been advising him against opting for outright merger with the Congress. They pointed out that it would be beneficial to the party if it had alliance and bargain for a lion's share of seats.

This would satisfy several ticket aspirants within the party. The TRS leaders argued that merger would mean sharing of anti-incumbency during the elections. The Congress leaders in Delhi too are not averse to the idea of alliance.

Sources said that the MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi during the last Parliament session urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi not to insist on merger of TRS.

The MIM chief had cautioned that such a merger would benefit the BJP in the region, sources said. When asked about the party's plans, TRS politburo member B Vinod said that it would depend on the passage of Telangana bill in the Parliament. 'If the bill is passed, the party will sit and discuss whether the party needs to be merged or to go for an alliance,'