Stalin in role to rope in KCR, Jagan

By Mohammed Shafeeq

Hyderabad, May 18 (IANS) UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is said to be in close touch with DMK leader M.K. Stalin on building the numbers for the UPA, if push comes to shove following the counting of votes on May 23.

Stalin, whose party is an ally of Congress, is reportedly working the channels to get the support of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), who are likely to be crucial for government formation in the event the Lok Sabha elections throw up a fractured verdict.

This assumes significance in the backdrop of TRS chief's May 13 meeting with Stalin in Chennai. Though KCR reportedly discussed his idea of a Federal Front and urged Stalin to support the proposed alliance of regional parties, the DMK leader requested him to back the Congress for formation of a non-BJP government.

Since Stalin has taken an initiative, the Congress leadership is believed to have felt it appropriate to entrust him with the task of holding further talks with both KCR and Jagan.

Telangana has 17 Lok Sabha seats and TRS is confident of making a clean sweep with its ally All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) expected to retain Hyderabad.

Banking on her experience of the 2004 and 2009 elections when she successfully cobbled together Congress-led alliance, Sonia Gandhi has stepped up her efforts to once again prepare the ground for the coalition.

As part of this, she has invited political heavyweights for a meeting on May 23.

Andhra Pradesh has 25 Lok Sabha seats. KCR is counting on the support of YSRCP to have joint bargaining power for the Telugu states.

Since KCR considers Telugu Desam Party (TDP) as anti-Telangana, he has thrown his weight behind YSRCP and invited it to join hte federal front.

The TDP, which pulled out of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) last year, is working for a non-BJP alliance led by the Congress.

TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu is already believed to have communicated to Congress leadership that he will have no problem to TRS being part of UPA. However, he may have reservations about Congress efforts to seek support of YSRCP.

One of the reasons cited by Naidu for his decision to pull out of NDA was BJP warming up to Jagan.

Since UPA may need the support of both, the Congress party is understood to have already initiated efforts to persuade Naidu to take a soft stand in the matter.

It is in this context that DMK leader Durai Murugan's meeting with Chandrababu Naidu in Amaravati on May 14 is seen as important.

TRS, which won five Lok Sabha seats in 2004, had joined Congress-led UPA after the polls. KCR served as minister in Manmohan Singh cabinet for couple of years before resigning over the demand for statehood to Telangana.

Though he hailed Congress for agreeing to carve out Telangana state and enjoyed good rapport with Sonia Gandhi, KCR was accused of betrayal by Congress after he refused to merge TRS with the party.

"Jagan has already made it clear that whichever party gives special category status to Andhra Pradesh will get YSRCP's support for government formation at the Centre. He has not ruled out support to Congress," a YSRCP leader, who did not want to be identified, told IANS.