Telangana Polls 2023: Sporting Telugu Desam scarfs, Congress candidates seek support

In the 2018 elections, the TDP and Congress had an alliance along with Telangana Jana Samithi and CPI in the State. Yet, the grand alliance could not defeat the ruling BRS (then TRS)

Hyderabad: It is an open secret. Sporting Telugu Desam Party (TDP) scarfs, a few Congress candidates, especially those in erstwhile Khammam and Nalgonda, are attending TDP meetings and seeking their support.

This nexus between the TDP and Congress is leaving voters perplexed, not to mention the plight of the party workers. It may be noted that TDP has withdrawn from contesting the elections in the State. Stating that a section of TDP leaders were supporting the Congress, the TDP Telangana unit president Kasani Gnaneshwar had quit the party and joined the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

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However, the unholy nexus between TDP and Congress is now becoming even more evident. So much so that last week, Khammam Congress candidate Tummala Nageswara Rao attended a TDP meeting in the constituency. Sporting a TDP scarf, Nageswara Rao in a video is heard saying: “My victory will be a significant milestone in Andhra Pradesh politics. I am indebted to this (TDP scarf) in my life and I wish the yellow flag is hoisted on Telugu land…”

He was seen making these statements with Congress and TDP leaders on the stage.

In a similar meeting at Kodad, Nalgonda MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy attended the programme and is learnt to have sought the support of TDP leaders. Uttam Kumar Reddy’s wife N Padmavathi Reddy is the Congress candidate from Kodad. The stage was decked with TDP banners and posters of former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. The Nalgonda MP and his wife spoke at the meeting and the audience was a blend of TDP and Congress leaders. Images and videos of Congress leaders sporting TDP scarfs and participating in the party meetings have gone viral on social media platforms.

In the 2018 elections, the TDP and Congress had an alliance along with Telangana Jana Samithi and CPI in the State. Yet, the grand alliance could not defeat the ruling BRS (then TRS).