The Hindu : Narendra statement creates confusion

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 29, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Narendra statement creates confusion

By Our Staff Reporter

NIZAMABAD, MARCH 28. The strong opposition of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti leaders to the allotment of the Kamareddy Assembly segment, which falls in the Medak Lok Sabha constituency, to the Congress has taken a new turn today after the Public Representative Forum chairman, A. Narendra, said that the party would field its candidate from Kamareddy despite the seat being allotted to its ally.

The statement of Mr. Narendra, who is seeking re-election from the Medak LS constituency of which Kamareddy is a part has already created confusion in the segment. It may be mentioned here that the Kamareddy seat has been allotted to the Congress. Former Minister and PCC vice-president, Md. Ali Shabbir, has been re-nominated by the Congress high command, which triggered strong waves of protests from the TRS leaders.

TRS leaders who were hopeful of bagging the seat were disappointed on learning that the Congress would field its candidate. They have made it clear that they would not campaign for the official Congress candidate. Moreover, the leaders were frank enough to state that they would oppose the candidature of Mr. Shabbir at any cost. To give credence to this threat, the leaders went to Hyderabad and met the party supremo, K.Chandrasekhara Rao, and Mr. Narendra, and made known their intentions.

The seat-sharing exercise has left bitterness among the various political parties. If the Congress and the TRS are fighting over the seat, the rival Telugu Desam Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party are also facing similar trouble. The TDP has allotted the seat to the BJP, which triggered unprecedented protests from the party cadres. The former MLA, Gampa Goverdhan's supporters were in the forefront of the protests. They accused the party high command of ignoring the plea of Mr. Goverdhan to allot the seat thereby giving an upper hand to the opposition parties. But, Mr. Narendra's statement that the party would field its candidate from Kamareddy has led to a piquant situation. The Congress nominee, Md. Ali Shabbir, has already filed his nomination and the decision of the TRS to enter the fray only adds confusion to the already surcharged atmosphere. TRS leaders from the segment held meetings and decided to oppose the Congress nominee. Another meeting was organised today where a final decision is expected to be taken. A large number of elected representatives of the party are totally opposed to Mr. Shabbir. The chances of the TRS fielding a rebel nominee is not ruled out and a triangular contest appears imminent. According to TRS sources, the disgruntled party leaders at one stage explored the idea of fielding a common candidate on behalf of the dissident TDP cadres and the TRS. It is understood that talks were held to see whether a common candidate by the dissident TRS and TDP candidate could make inroads into the vote bank of the respective political parties. The plan of the disgruntled TRS and TDP leaders was to hit back at their opposition.

TRS leaders admitted that Mr. Narendra's statement had added strength to their claim on the seat. The leaders appeared to be a relieved lot and are hopeful that the senior leader would stick to his commitment.

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Andhra Pradesh