TRS to start wooing Congress leaders

HYDERABAD: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has decided to woo Congress activists into the party fold to further strengthen its base in Telangana.TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao has reportedly directed the party leaders to start discussions with the Congress activists willing to join the regional party for the T cause.The TRS chief is of the view that the Congress high command may spell out its stand on Telangana, but it will not deliver the T state till 2014.Hence, the TRS should focus on further strengthening its base in Telangana region to become an alternative to the Congress.The TRS is also of the opinion that TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and some Seemandhra leaders prevented formation of separate Telangna state after Union home minister P Chidambaram’s statement on December 9, 2009.Hence, the TRS is targeting TDP and its chief Chandrababu.Due to the TRS effect, the TDP had fared poorly in the byelections in Telangana in 2010.The TRS has succeeded in getting several TDP MLAs into its fold.Some TDP MLAs had started taking part in the T movement after openly revolting against the party leadership.Though Banswada in Nizamabad district was a TDP stronghold, the party did not contest the bypoll ‘fearing defeat’ as the T movement was at its peak after the launch of Sakala Janula Samme.According to some TRS leaders, 7 lakh TDP activists have joined their party in recent years unable to digest the two-eye policy of the TDP chief on Telangana issue.The TDP base in Telangana is slowly eroding and in some districts, there are no Telugu Desam village committees, they said.Now, the TRS has felt that it is high time to target the Congress in Telangana.In this backdrop, the TRS chief is understood to have asked the party leaders to shortlist the names of Congress leaders and start consultations to bring them into the party fold.The TRS strategy is aimed to make the regional party as a strong alternative to the Congress.Denying the attempts to woo Congress activists, TRS politburo member B Vinodkumar said the party did not initiate any process in this regard.The focus of TRS is intensifying the T movement to achieve a state, he said.Meanwhile, AICC secretary and MLC P Sudhakar Reddy alleged that the TRS chief was implementing his secret agenda in the guise of Telangana movement.The Congress with 126 years of political history, is ready to face any challenge.But he admitted the fact that some Telangana Congress MPs were unhappy over the high command’s ‘indifferent’ attitude towards Telangana issue

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