With the ruling parties in both the Telugu States well and truly entrenched, the main opposition parties are intensifying efforts to woo smaller units to form an alliance even as over two years remain before the next Assembly elections.
The Congress in Telangana and the Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh are trying to strike an alliance with like-minded parties in the two States and have started efforts in this direction.
These two parties believe that Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and AP Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy are losing public support and that if they can gather strength with the help of like-minded parties, they can take the fight to the camp of the ruling parties in the next Assembly elections.
On Wednesday, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president A Revanth Reddy praised former IPS officer Praveen Kumar who joined the BSP recently, indicating that the Congress may be looking at the BSP as a potential ally.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress cobbled together the ‘Mahakutami’ (grand alliance), but failed to dethrone the TRS.
SC and ST communities are traditional Congress voters, but the party has in recent times lost their support.
The Dalit Bandhu scheme introduced by the TRS government may wean away SC voters from the Congress. Praveen Kumar joining the BSP will also have some affect on SC voters.
It may be recalled that in the 2014 Assembly elections, the BSP won two seats in Telangana, at a time that it had no strong or popular leader.
Praveen Kumar has some following in SC and ST communities and his joining the BSP will strengthen the party in Telangana.
If the Dalit vote is split between the TRS and BSP, it will be the Congress that will lose most.
Keeping this in view, the Congress is looking at an alliance with BSP. Any alliance with the BSP will definitely improve the prospects of Congress in some areas, said a senior Congress leader.
Meanwhile in Andhra Pradesh, the TDP has been trying to woo the Jana Sena-BJP alliance. It may be mentioned here that the TDP and parted ways with the BJP before the 2019 General Elections.
In the previous Assembly elections, the TDP fought alone and failed miserably in retaining power.
Political observers believe that the presence of the Jana Sena helped the YSR Congress Party win an additional 25 to 30 seats. In these seats, the votes polled in favour of the TDP and the Jana Sena were more than what the YSRCP candidate who ultimately won, polled.
AP present, the BJP and Jana Sena have an alliance in AP, but Jana Sena supremo Pawan Kalyan is reportedly not happy with the BJP.
Though the TDP is trying its best to revive its alliance with the BJP, the latter is not showing any interest because of its past experience.
Rebuffed by the BJP, the TDP would be happy having the Jana Sena as an ally. In fact, a TDP-Jana Sena combination will be stronger than the BJP-Jana Sena combination.
Even Jana Sena leaders express the same opinion.
As of now, the chances of a TDP-Jana Sena alliance in Andhra Pradesh and Congress-BSP alliance in Telangana appear to be bright.
The Communist parties have lost ground in both the Telugu States and are struggling against the ruling parties.
In Telangana, the Left parties may have an alliance with the Congress and with the TDP in Andhra Pradesh, provided the latter maintains a distance from the BJP.
The Communist parties had peen part of an alliance with the Jana Sena, but have broken their ties.
If TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu convinces the Left parties, they may agree to be part of the TDP-Jana Sena alliance in Andhra Pradesh. #KhabarLive #hydnews
