The forthcoming election for filling up vacancies of 12 legislative council seats under the local authorities constituency quota have thrown up interesting permutations and combinations.
The election where councillors, MPTC and ZPTC members constitute the electoral college is set to throw up keen contests. Even as the reports of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti striking an accord with the Congress to ensure unanimous elections to the seats are doing rounds in the political circles, the Telugu Desam Party has reportedly kept its options open for a similar understanding with the Congress.
While the TRS had the required numbers in Karimnagar, Warangal, Adilabad, Nizamabad and Medak, the TDP and the Congress together have an edge over the ruling party in Ranga Reddy, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda and Khammam districts. Taking advantage of the combined strength, the TDP has, in principle, decided to strike an understanding with the Congress, if need be, to keep the TRS at bay.
“We have decided to keep our options open. We are ready for a dialogue if a proposal is received from the Congress,” was how a senior leader reacted after an informal meeting of senior TDP leaders here on Saturday.
The two parties which lost their numbers on account of defection of some of their members to the ruling party could make up for the loss at least to some extent if they could strike a deal in the elections, another leader reasoned. The TDP leaders, however, realise that entering into an informal understanding with the Congress is not an easy affair as the two parties should overcome the ideological differences in striking a deal.
But the party has kept the doors open to avoid split in the opposition vote and money power coming into play. “Given the spate of defections witnessed during the past few months because of the inducements offered by the ruling party, the TRS will be at an advantage in the event of money power becoming a factor in the polls,” a senior leader told The Hindu .