Alliance landscape set for change for LS poll in Telangana

The electoral alliance landscape appears set to change for the Lok Sabha elections in Telangana amid indications that the Congress may go it alone, and CPI and CPI(M) may join hands.

In the December 7 Assembly poll, the Congress had forged "Prajakutami" (People's Front) along with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS).

But this pre-poll alliance came a cropper at the hustings with the Congress bagging only 19 seats and the TDP two in the 119-member House. The CPI and TJS drew a blank.

The Telangana Rashtra Samiti was swept back to power securing 88 seats.

Sources in the Congress said on Monday the party is likely to field own candidates in all the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State.

"It seems the Congress wants to contest all the seats," a senior Congress leader told PTI.

Some Congress leaders had blamed tie-up with the TDP, led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, for the poor performance in the Assembly polls.

In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the Congress had said it would fight the elections on its own, and would not have an electoral understanding with the TDP despite Naidu working in coordination with it for forging a broad opposition front to take on the BJP in Lok Sabha elections due by May.

CPI(M) had forged a front of its own with several parties for the Assembly poll in Telangana but it did not make any impact.

This time, CPI(M) has reached out to the CPI for a tie-up and "it's quite likely" that the two Left parties would fight the Lok Sabha elections together, sources said.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TRS bagged 11 seats and the Congress two, while the BJP, TDP, YSRCP and AIMIM won in one constituency each.