Rahul, Chandrababu to share dais in Telangana rally

Congress President Rahul Gandhi and TDP leader and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will share dais at their first public meeting at Khammam on Wednesday to campaign for "grand alliance" candidates in Telangana's Assembly elections.

This is the first time two top leaders of the Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will be sharing the stage at an election rally since they agreed to work together to form an alliance of non-BJP parties at the national level.

In a dramatic shift of TDP's stand towards Congress, Naidu met Rahul Gandhi this month and they agreed to bury the past and work together to unite opposition parties.

Congress party's Telangana unit working President Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and TDP leader Nama Nageswara Rao on Monday visited the Government Degree College in Khammam where the 'grand alliance' public meeting will be held.

They said the public meeting will not only bolster the alliance's campaign but will be significant for national politics. Vikramarka said the meeting would send a message to the whole country.

The Congress is leading the 'grand alliance' in Telangana which includes the TDP, Communist Party of India (CPI) and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS).

TDP's Telangana unit chief L. Ramna and leaders of CPI and TJS shared dais with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi at a public meeting at Medchal near Hyderabad on Friday.

For the Khammam public meeting, the Congress has also invited CPI General Secretary S. Sudhakar Reddy and TJS leader M. Kodandaram.

Elections for 119-member Assembly are scheduled on December 7. The Congress has fielded candidates in 94 constituencies leaving the rest for its allies. TDP is contesting 13 seats.

--IANS

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