If the reports doing rounds in the media circles are to be believed, the Congress high command is understood to have begun backroom negotiations with the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen to seek the latter’s support to the Maha Kootami to form the government in Telangana, if such a situation arises.
According to these reports, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Ahmed Patel, who was the former advisor to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, has contacted MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi and sought the latter’s support in the event of the Maha Kootami falls short of a few seats in forming the government in Telangana.
The Congress leadership reportedly brought to the notice of Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao’s attempts to contact the BJP and offer cabinet posts to its MLAs.
“The TRS has been, right from the beginning, hand in glove with the BJP. The Congress is the only party which has been seriously opposing the BJP and Sangh Parivar. So, it is good for both the parties to join hands in Telangana,” the Congress leadership told MIM in its message sent through Ahmed Patel.
However, the MIM president does not have much regard for Congress president Rahul Gandhi and some other leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, though he has all respects for Sonia.
He also does not want interference of Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu in the Telangana affairs, as he had personal enmity with the latter.
“But everything will be sorted out through negotiations. If necessary, Rahul Gandhi would come down to Hyderabad to meet Owaisi or both can meet in New Delhi to come to an understanding. There is every possibility that Owaisi might change his mind if the Congress bounces back in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh,” sources said.
