A delegation of leaders of the Congress, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) called on Telangana Governor ESL Narasimhan on Monday to submit a representation of a pre-poll alliance of the four parties.
Under the Congress-led People’s Front (Praja Kutami), the parties urged the Governor to treat it as a single entity and invite it to form the government in case it gets the maximum number of seats.
“It is brought to the notice of your Excellency that the four political parties ie. Indian National Congress, Telugu Desam Party, Telangana Jana Samiti (Regd. Party) have come to an understanding of pre-poll alliance and formed ‘People’s Front’ and contested the elections held for the State of Telangana on 7th December 2018, unitedly,” read the letter signed by Telangana Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy, TDP Telangana chief L Ramana, TJS chief Kodandaram and CPI state secretary Chada Venkat Reddy. Telangana Congress working president Mohammad Azharuddin was also among the leaders who met the Governor.
In their memorandum, the parties urged the Governor not to invite Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to form the government even if it gets more seats than the Congress party in the event of a fractured verdict.
“The alliance, after winning the elections, is going to form the Government collectively and continue to work as alliance partners,” the parties assured in their letter.
Uttam Kumar Reddy later told reporters that the four parties had entered into an alliance before the elections and contested the polls with a common minimum programme. The parties also submitted the relevant records to the Governor.
Reddy said they brought to Narasimhan’s notice that the Supreme Court in its judgements on various occasions had observed that a pre-poll alliance should be treated as a single entity.
The Congress leader said they made the representation as a precautionary measure in view of the attempts by some parties to form a post-poll alliance.
The People’s Front leaders said they also urged the Governor to ensure that after the results were announced the newly-elected legislators get adequate security.
Congress sources said they called on the Governor in view of the recent experiences in Goa and Karnataka, where the governors invited the single largest party to form the government.
A majority of the exit polls have predicted that Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao will sail through in the first full-fledged elections in the state. Some have, however, hinted at a hung assembly.
Earlier today, AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi said that TRS will form the next government in Telangana on its own strength and his party will stand by it and its chief K Chandrasekhar Rao. He described the decision as “our first step towards a larger goal of nation building.”
In the afternoon, Owaisi arrived on a bike to meet KCR to reaffirm his support to the TRS.
Counting of votes will be held on Tuesday, 11 December.