Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary Kunamneni Sambashiva Rao along with State Deputy Secretary Palla Venkat Reddy (left) and former MP Aziz Pasha addressing a press conference at Makhdoom Bhavan in Hyderabad on Tuesday, June 13, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s announcement of party candidates for 115 out of the 119 Assembly constituencies in the State has come as a shocker to the two Left parties — the CPI and the CPI (Marxist).

The two parties, which entered into an unconditional alliance with the ruling BRS in the Munugode by-elections, were harbouring hopes of securing a few seats in the forthcoming Assembly as part of the tie-up. The CPI has been eyeing the chance to field its candidates from Huzurabad, Wyra, Kothagudem, Munugode, Bellampalli and Devarakonda constituencies, which it has represented in the past. The CPI(M) on its part has expressed its intentions to field its candidates from Miryalaguda, Palair, Bhadrachalam, Ibrahimpatnam, Madhira and Nalgonda constituencies.

Firm on the view that the BRS could not have won the Munugode bypoll without their support, the two parties were hopeful of an appointment with the BRS president in the run-up to the Assembly polls where they reportedly thought of bargaining for the seats in which they believe they had a strong presence. They took a wait-and-watch approach in the hope that the BRS president or his emissaries would invite them for talks on seat-sharing and leave at least a few seats as part of the alliance. However, Mr. Rao’s announcement of ruling-party candidates from all these constituencies has left them high and dry.

The two parties would now have no other option but to consider a tie-up with the Congress; the meeting of the secretaries of the two parties on Tuesday thus assumes significance. While there would be few major idealogical issues in the event of a Left-Congress alliance, it is unlikely to be an easy affair given the significant presence of the main Opposition in all these constituencies. The Congress has more than one strong aspirant vying for the polls. Moreover, the Left leaders had been replying in the negative all these days when asked about a possible tie-up with the Congress in the Assembly elections.