Hyderabad: Party chiefs in six states — K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Naveen Patnaik, Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav — are sitting on a possible 185 seats or one-third of the Lok Sabha.
As per the analysis of Telangana state Chief Minister and TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao, the Congress prospects are bleak in Odisha where the BJP is emerging as the main Opposition party. Mr Patnaik will certainly not go with the BJP after the elections and would opt to support the Congress to weaken the BJP.
In Uttar Pradesh, despite the alliance with the Congress falling through, the SP-BSP grouping will move towards the party after the elections.
In Andhra Pradesh, it is worth mentioning that in a recent interview YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had said that he had ‘forgiven’ the Congress and claimed that he had no feelings of ‘vengeance’ against the party.
Mr Rao explained to his party leaders that in such circumstances the six parties working together would emerge as a game changer in the post-poll scenario, a source said.
Sources quoted Mr Rao as saying that Ms Banerjee was not so keen on Mr Rahul Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister. That is why she was very categorical with AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu when he met her recently with regard to a meeting of Opposition parties that they should wait for the election results.
Andhra Pradesh has 25 Lok Sabha seats, Telangana 17, Uttar Pradesh 80, Odisha 21, and West Bengal 42, totalling 185. In the 2014 elections, the BJP had won 71 seats in UP but the SP-BSP alliance would prevent a repeat.
Mr Rao visualises that if the Congress and its UPA partners look for a alternative leader for Prime Minister other than Mr Gandhi, given the way the numbers pan out, the SP-BSP combine may project the name of Ms Mayawati for PM.
