The formation of grand alliance by four parties – the Congress, the Telugu Desam Party, the CPI and Telangana Jana Samithi – would be worked out in such a way that the Congress party has to form the next government in Telangana.
This was made it clear by Congress president Rahul Gandhi to the party leaders from Telangana, who met him in New Delhi on Friday.
“I don’t mind the Congress forms an alliance with the other parties. But there is no compromise on the formation of the Congress government in Telangana. The seat sharing has to be worked out only on this objective,” Rahul is learnt to have told the party leaders during the discussion in the AICC war room.
He reportedly told them that the seat sharing talks could be held based on the winning chances of the candidates, rather than demand from the alliance partners.
“There is no need for sacrifice the seats wherein the Congress has fair chances of winning. Wherever the Congress is not strong, we can offer them to the other parties,” the Congress president said.
He, however, asked the party leaders not to make any public statements on the alliances and seat sharing.
He said he did not want any disgruntlement among the senior party leaders who would be an asset to the party.
Rahul appointed a three-member screening committee to select the party candidates for the ensuring assembly elections in Telangana.
The committee headed by Bhakth Charan Das comprises Jothimani Sennimalai and Sharmishta Mukherjee as members.
The committee will arrive in Hyderabad on Sunday to start the screening of the list of candidates submitted by the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee and submit it to the party president for approval.
