TRS, Cong. fight to score a point

Hyderabad, January 31 : It is more than clear that TRS and Congress are fighting to score a point with each other with the possibility of merger looming large.

TRS is prepared to merge the party with Congress to secure Telangana and if it fails, many Congress leaders are prepared to join TRS. Elections are far enough but an agreement is eluding both the parties on the merger terms, hence the delay in decision making, so it appears going by the recent developments.

First it was K Chandrasekhar Rao, who was in Delhi for some time, broached the subject and had secret meetings with Congress High Command and suddenly went into hibernation.

When there was no response or answer to his satisfaction, TRS started firing with all guns. Congress leaders are being sandwiched between the high command and TRS, deal or no deal.

Congress has a wide experience in handling such issues. Recently it had merged PRP, allotting ministerial berths at state and centre, before that many off-shoots of Congress made it to the parent party. Reddy Congress and Tiwari Congress are the two parties to name a few.

KCR had come from TDP is a different thing. Many leaders have defected to Congress form TDP from P Upendra to Renuka Choudhary to K Jana Reddy. The problem now seems to be uncertainty of the future of Congress leaders on both sides. The party is in catch 22 situation and to wriggle out, it needs a very tender prescription, which seems to be difficult.

The tempo has to be sustained for one more year and in between it has to wade through at least three sessions of Parliament and Assembly assuming that UPA will not go for a snap poll. Both at the Centre and State, the Government is on a wafer thin majority and a minor shift can usher in constitutional crisis.

The first priority will be to complete the formality of budget session both at the centre and State. It has to sustain the tempo that long on one hand and keep its flock together on the other. The dual task is very tough and all wise brains should come together to make it a reality.

Congress has been in similar situations earlier, but this time it has trouble from within as well. Any rupture with TRS will reflect on its only leaders from Telangana region and this is new dimension that the party unable to grapple with.

The coming days will show the way, either way. INN