Hyderabad: Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K. Chandrasekhar Rao is likely to take a call on the party’s merger or alliance with the Congress, on March 1. Mr Rao, who has returned to the city from Delhi, has convened a joint meeting of the TRS politburo, parliamentary party, legislature party and state executive committee at Telangana Bhavan on March 1 at 2 pm.
Though no agenda has been given for the meeting, sources say the TRS chief will chalk out a road map for the reconstruction of the new state of Telangana and seek the opinion of party leaders on whether they favour merging the party with the Congress as they had promised in the past, or limit it to an alliance or go it alone in the next elections. The March 1 meeting assumes significance in the wake of contradictory statements made by the major players.
Mr Rao met some party leaders at his farm on Thursday and discussed the agenda for the March 1 meeting. “A big chunk of party leaders and cadre are opposed to merger of the party with the Congress after having built the party over the years,” Mr Vinod Kumar said. The TRS is hardening its stand against the merger. Placards at KCR's rally recently opposed the merger of the party with the Congress. The Congress camp says KCR is insisting on the Chief Minister's post and other sops, which the party is not ready to give right now, citing the example of the merger of Mr Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam in the past. "The merger of two political parties is not that easy. There are aspirations among party leaders of all hues and shades. A ward member wants to grow politically. Achieving Telangana is one aspect and reconstruction of the region is another. There are many who say don't merge," Mr Etala Rajender, TRS floor leader in the Assembly said.
