Even as Telangana State Congress leaders were in the thick of shortlisting the names of party candidates, its partners in the Opposition Grand Alliance have starts showing the signs of strain and frustration.
While the major party was dropping hints that it can leave more than 19 seats for the other parties including Telugu Desam, Communist Party of India and Telangana Jana Samiti, the partners were demanding immediate discussion and a final decision on the issue.
The first warning came from TJS President Prof Kodandaram who in a letter to the state Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that if Congress does not come reach an agreement on seat sharing with the other parties, he will go with the other like minded parties. Expressing unhappiness over delay in seat sharing agreement even after the poll schedule was announced, he set a deadline of 48 hours.
The warning came when the entire top leadership of state Congress was ensconced in a resort in the city outskirts to discuss and thrash out the contentious issue of shortlisting of winnable candidates keeping in view all the factors like caste and community angles. The task was quite challenging given the fact that there were 1000 aspirants for the tickets in Congress alone.