Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was in-charge of Telangana from 2004 to 2010, was in Hyderabad on Wednesday to be part of an event for the state minority cell.
With talks for a seat-sharing arrangement between the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the CPI in Telangana in the final stages, the Congress state unit is set to offer no more than 20 seats up for an alliance, sources in the state unit said.
While the TDP has asked for 30-35 seats, the Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) has demanded 20 seats as part of the alliance. State Congress leaders are, however, not keen on ceding more than 20 seats to the alliance. Congress leaders in the state want to set aside a couple of seats for the Left parties and offer 15-18 seats to TDP. There are 119 seats in the Telangana Assembly in total.
With the TDP strong in areas around Hyderabad and along the Telangana-Andhra Pradesh border, assembly seats in Khammam including Wyra, Aswaraopeta, Sathupally, Bhadrachalam, etc are currently part of the offer, sources said. The TDP had a stronghold in areas around Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda as well. But, with TDP leader Revanth Reddy and 15 former TDP MLAs joining the Congress in October last year, the party's state unit feels that the bargaining chips lie with the Congress.
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was in-charge of Telangana from 2004 to 2010, was in Hyderabad on Wednesday to be part of an event for the state minority cell. But it is believed that Azad has taken part in the talks.
A senior Congress leader, wishing to remain unnamed, said that an alliance in Telangana with the TDP will lead to a consequent one with the party in Andhra Pradesh as well. Party president Rahul Gandhi will travel to take part in a rally in Kunoor on September 18.
Seat Division
- The Congress is in the last leg of seat sharing talks with the TDP and CPI.
- The TDP had asked for 30-35 seats, while another prospective ally TJS had asked for 20 seats as part of the alliance
- There are a total of 119 seats in the Telangana Assembly.
- According to state Congress, of the 20 seats on offer 15-18 seats are likely for the TDP while the rest are for Left front.
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