TRS chief may campaign in non-Telangana region

TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao is mulling a proposal to campaign in non-Telangana regions in Andhra Pradesh in the bypolls scheduled to be held on March 18.

“Andhra Rashtra Praja Samiti, a newly-registered party that is supporting separate Andhra state minus Telangana, has invited me to campaign for it in the bypoll for Kovur assembly seat in coastal Andhra region,” he told reporters here on Sunday.

A decision on the proposal would be taken after discussing with the party, he said.

Rao, who often accuses the non-Telangana region of exploiting and deceiving Telangana, never visited the region after the separate statehood agitation gained momentum.
Stating that people of non-Telangana region would never vote for TRS, he wondered why should Telangana people vote for parties like TDP and Congress, which have presence all over Andhra Pradesh.

There is an argument within TRS to make this point by fielding candidates in non-Telangana regions, he said.

Meanwhile, the TRS president hit out at TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and the party leaders for certain comments reportedly made against him.

“The TDP leaders are making baseless allegations against me in a desperate bid to see that the TRS does not win all the seats in Telangana, where bypolls are scheduled,” he said.

“The Centre may act with speed and take a decision on the Telangana issue if TRS wins all the six seats in Telangana. The TDP leaders do not want that to happen,” Rao said.

The bypolls are necessitated due to resignation of sitting MLAs in five seats in support of separate Telangana and death of the sitting MLA in another seat (Mahabubnagar).

In Kovur, the bypoll is necessitated due to the resignation of sitting TDP MLA in support of Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Senior TDP leader T Srinivasa Yadav later dismissed the allegations of the TRS president against Naidu.

Meanwhile, the ruling Congress had a reason to smile over the bypoll for Mahabubnagar assembly segment with the wife of Rajeswara Reddy, whose death necessitated the election, deciding not to enter the fray as an independent.

State Information Minister DK Aruna, who hails from Mahabubnagar district, said Rajeswara Reddy’s wife Vijayalakshmi would not contest the bypolls as planned earlier. PTI