CPI-CPM may cross sickles in Telangana; CPM to go it alone, announces 17 nominees

HYDERABAD: The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which announced its intention to run in the state elections alone, released a list of 17 candidates for the upcoming Telangana Assembly Elections on Thursday.

CPI (M) Telangana State Committee Secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram announced on Thursday that the party had decided to contest alone in Kothagudem, Ashwaraopet, Wyra, Palair, Madhira, Janagaon, Patancheru, Musheerabad, Miryalaguda, Nalgonda, Nakirekal, Bhuvanagiri, Huzurnagar, Kodad, Janagam, and Ibrahimpatnam constituencies

The party dissolved the proposed pre-poll alliance between the Congress since the party failed to uphold its commitment on Wyra and Miryalaguda seats.

Tammineni Veerabhadram had waited until Wednesday to hear from the Congress. He nevertheless chose to announce a list of 17 candidates after the Congress failed to confirm the seats in Wyra and Miryalaguda.

The CPM’s contest alone, dumping the pre-poll alliance with Congress, primarily in Khammam district, could be disastrous to the Congress party, owing to its significant presence in the district.

In 1994, the left parties, through an alliance with the TDP, secured seven out of nine seats in Khammam district. The CPI won four seats, the CPM won three, and the TDP won the remaining two seats.

However, the left parties’ alliance with the TDP ended in 1999, and they formed an alliance with the Congress party in 2004, when the left parties won a total of five seats in Khammam district in 2004 elections.

The war between the CPI and the CPM could cost the Congress heavily. The two parties fielded their nominees against former Chief Minister and Congress leader Jalagam Vengala Rao in 1984 Lok Sabha elections. While the CPI fielded its stalwart Nallamala Giri Prasad, the CPM fielded another popular leader Dr Yalamanchili Radhakrishna Murthy from Khammam

Lok Sabha seat. This led to the victory of Jalagam Vengala Rao.

CPI state secretary Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao announced that the party would wait for the Congress to announce candidates for the remaining 19 seats before taking a final call. The party was promised two constituencies - Chennur and Kothagudem - by the Congress. However, the CPI has been insisting on Kothagudem and Munugode. Since the Congress fielded Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy from Munugode, the CPI grudgingly agreed to contest from Chennur. However, the entry of G Vivek Venkat Swamy is likely to hamper the chances of the CPI there.

This throws the chances of the CPI-Congress truck also into a limbo.

If this happens, the two left parties may consider a pact, else they would also cross their sickles in the battle ground Telangana.

If the CPI accedes to the two constituencies offered by the Congress, if at all, the two left parties will be contesting against each other. In case the CPI feels disappointed with the Congress offer, it may reconsider its options of either going it alone or working out a pact with its left partner.