CPI To Fight In 25 Assembly Seats Independently?

Probably disillusioned with the Mahakootami for the delay by the Congress in finalising the seat-sharing, the CPI today held a special meeting at Makhdoom Bhavan to discuss contesting 25 seats independently.

The meeting had a lot of fury with many leaders seeking at least 10 seats from the grand alliance and favouring contesting independently otherwise. The CPI leadership has been seeking at least 12 seats from the Congress-led alliance, and the Congress plans to offer just three or four seats to it.

As of now, it appears like the CPI will go ahead with the alliance if the Congress offers at least eight to ten seats, and will otherwise contest independently from 25 constituencies, which will kill the grand alliance that aims to fight the ruling TRS which is already campaigning. CPI Telangana Secretary and former MLA Chada Venkat Reddy, who chaired the meeting, said the Congress needed to finalize the sharing of the seats quickly, so that his party could decide whether or not to sail with the alliance.

Former MLA K Sambasiva Rao left the meeting in the middle in a huff upset by the delay in the finalization of the seat-sharing in the Mahakutami. He however denied reports that the CPI would contest independently.

"Some parties are resorting to a misinformation campaign against us. We will be part of the grand alliance," he said.

The Congress is reportedly seeking to give a low number of seats to the CPI as the latter has no cadre in many segments. Reddy however claimed that the CPI had a vote bank in all the constituencies.

The CPI plans to contest from Husnabad, Aler, Munugode, Kothagudem, Vyra, Pinapaka, Bellampally, Mancherial, Devarakonda, Quthbullapur, Malkajgiri, Maheshwaram, Medchal, Siddipet, Bhadrachalam, Chennur, Tandur, Bhupalapally, Narsampet, Chevella, Mahabubabad, Madhira, Paler, Nagar Kurnool and Mana Kondur if it is not part of the alliance, according to information.