Despite a categorical denial of a senior leader of Telangana Rashtra Samiti, speculation of the State ruling party joining the BJP-led NDA alliance at the Centre is refusing to die. On the contrary, a new dimension has been added that the party is mulling the idea of offering a Rajya Sabha seat to the top BJP leader and Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu whose term is coming to an end in June.
With a series of electoral victories and almost wiping out the Opposition from the State, K Chandrasekhar Rao-led TRS is now at its strongest point. Having won the Warangal lok Sabha seat with one of the biggest margins and sweeping the GHMC and wresting a traditional Congress bastion Narayankhed Assembly seat in by-election and luring two-third MlAs of the TDP the TRS was now left only with conquering two more city corporations Warangal and Khammam.
A politically suave KCR knows that the only potential challenge in future may come from the Congress and the BJP.
Realising that it was paying a heavy price for it alliance with the TDP, there is a growing clamour in Telangana BJP to go alone. KCR seems to be now toying with the idea of roping in the BJP to benefit from the Centre’s largesse in funds and schemes.
The speculation of a possible tie-up was triggered with KCR’s one-on-one meeting with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter’s residence in New Delhi. Though later S Venugopala Chary denied the reports, many in TRS see a merit in such a move.
They point out that an alliance will yield two to three berths in the Modi Ministry and out Telangana at par with Andhra Pradesh where the TDP Government was benefiting as a partner of NDA. If KCR joins hands with the BJP it may give a fresh opening to the Congress to wow the minority voters in future.
The supporters of the idea in TRS say that the TRS need not worry about the votes in the immediate future as there were no big elections due before 2019.
On MIM they say that having swept the GHMC in its own and bagged the post of Mayor and deputy Mayor, the party does not need the support of Muslim party immediately.
As far as the possibility of offering a Rajya Sabha seat to veteran Venkaiah Naidu goes, the TRS was in a comfortable position to win one of the two seats only which were falling vacant in retirement of a Congress and a TDP member.
As winning a Rajya Sabha seat will require a minimum of 42 members’ support, the TRS will require support of the defectors of other parties like TDP, Congress and YSR Congress.