Unlike the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI(M)) which has gone ahead and declared its first list of candidates, the Communist Party of India (CPI) in Telangana is still hopeful of an alliance deal going through with the Congress. CPI leaders said that the two seats offered to them were not satisfactory and hence, negotiations are dragging on. Moreover, the return of ex-Pedapalli MP G Vivekanand from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) back to the Congress has also led to some delays in the grand old party releasing its third list.
“We were told that Chennur and Kothagudem would be offered to us. However, it seems Vivekanand wants the Chennur seat, so now it is unclear. Though the CPI(M) has opted out of the alliance talks, we are still here because all our 30-plus district secretaries have reported that there is a lot of anti-incumbency,” a senior leader from the CPI in Hyderabad told TNM.
Seat-sharing talks have dragged on for close to a month now, and nominations for the polls began on November 3. The last date for filing nominations is November 10, and the final date for withdrawal is November 15. “This is the culture in the Congress, they always do this. We earlier had talks with the Bharat Rashtra Party (BRS), and were offered one MLA seat and two MLC seats in return for support. Even that offer came from a second-rung leader. Had it been CM KCR (K Chandrashekar Rao) or his son who spoke with us, we could have taken it seriously,” the CPI leader stated.
In the previous 2018 elections, the CPI along with other parties like the Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS), had joined the Congress-led grand alliance. However, in spite of the coalition, the Congress ended up giving tickets to its candidates even on seats allotted to the TJS.
“Though the CPI(M) has released names, talks are still going on in Delhi as well, so we have to see what will be finally decided,” the CPI leader told TNM.
In the 2018 polls, the CPI(M) formed its own alliance with other left and Bahujan organisations called the Bahujana Left Front. The CPI supported the Congress, but could not win any of the seats it was allotted. The alliance, however, did not succeed in winning any seats.