Ending the weeks long suspense, the Congress party has finally allotted Kothagudem Assembly seat in old Khammam district to the Communist Party of India (CPI).
A decision to this effect was taken after the TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy met the CPI leaders including the State Secretary Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao in the latter’s office on Monday.
After the brief meeting, the leaders said the Congress and the CPI have joined hands to defeat the BJP led NDA for its failure to fulfil the promises.
The Congress has promised to give two MLC tickets to the CPI after the Assembly results are announced. “We want CPI representation in Assembly and Council also,” said Mr. Revanth Reddy. CPI National Secretary K. Narayana, who too was present, said time has come to throw out the BRS Government in Telangana.
Mr. Narayana said the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) have tacit understanding and this was demonstrated as BRS MLC K. Kavitha was not arrested so far in the alleged irregularities in Delhi liquor scandal. He pointed out that the Congress rule in Chhattisgarh was good but the BJP was trying its best to polarise the elections on communal lines.
The top leaders of Congress and the CPI had held preliminary talks in New Delhi last month and sought adequate number of seats for the Assembly. It is understood that the CPI had insisted on Kothagudem and Chennur seats as part of the poll alliance.
However, with the recent re-entry of the former MP G. Vivek into the Congress party, it was decided in principle that the Chennur seat would be given to him.
The CPI State Secretary Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao, himself a former MLA is likely to contest from Kothagudem seat. There was opposition to the idea of allocating the seat to CPI by the Congress leaders. Former Union Minister Renuka Chowdary has claimed that as the Congress party was on a strong footing in the constituency, it was but natural that the seat should be kept with the party itself.
The CPI (M), which too hoped of an alliance called it a day on Sunday and announced candidates for 14 seats. Party’s State secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram at a press conference had maintained that they had waited till the last minute for a positive response from the Congress but in vain. “The filing of nominations have also started and we can not wait for long hoping that we will be given some seats,” he had said.
