HYDERABAD: TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday claimed that the BRS and BJP have a ‘secret pact’ for the upcoming Assembly elections to split anti-incumbency votes and share Lok Sabha seats in 9:7 ratio, in BRS’ favour, to counter the Congress, information allegedly revealed to him by a BRS MP who was set to lose his seat on account of the partnership.
Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan, Ravanth said that as part of the deal, BRS and BJP will contest all 119 seats in the Assembly to split anti-incumbency votes to benefit the BRS. “In Lok Sabha polls which will be held within five months of the Assembly polls, the BRS will contest nine seats and BJP seven seats, leaving the lone Hyderabad seat for AIMIM, as part of this deal,” Revanth said.
He said that the deal was on the lines of the BRS-JD(S)-BJP secret pact in the recently held Karnataka elections, claiming BRS funded JD(S) candidates to split anti-BJP votes to defeat the Congress. He claimed the JD(S) joining NDA for upcoming Lok Sabha polls as evidence of the claim.
“A BRS Lok Sabha member who is going to lose his seat on account of BRS-BJP deal revealed this to me with a heavy heart during the recent special session of Parliament. He told me that KCR offered three Lok Sabha seats to BJP in addition to four Lok Sabha seats held by BJP currently. These three seats are Malkajgiri, Chevella and Mahbubnagar. Of these, Malkajgiri is represented by me and the other two are represented by BRS MPs,” Revanth said.
The TPCC chief went on to claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two public meetings within a three-day period were part of the agenda to split the anti-incumbency votes. “For BRS and BJP, the common enemy is Congress. To defeat Congress in Assembly polls, BRS and BJP entered into a shady deal with the support of AIMIM,” Revanth alleged.
He also demanded that AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi make clear his party’s stand, whether AIMIM continues to sail with BRS in Telangana even after it emerged that BRS and BJP were both sides of the same coin.
“PM Modi clearly stated in Nizamabad public meeting that KCR met him and sought BJP's support for BRS in GHMC elections. Modi also disclosed that KCR expressed his desire to make his son KTR as CM and sought his blessings. These comments clearly prove that BRS and BJP are in cahoots. I demand Asaduddin Owaisi to spell his stand on this. Owaisi should answer to Muslim minorities on how AIMIM can support BRS even after it joined hands with BJP. I also request Muslim minorities to seriously think on whether they should support a secular party like Congress or support BRS and AIMIM, which are in cahoots with communal BJP,” Revanth said.
