Congress reaches poll accord with TRS

Hyderabad, July 12 (UNI) Burying the hatchet, the Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, which share power at the Centre, today clinched a poll-pact for the postponed indirect elections in three Zilla Parishads in Andhra Pradesh on July 15.

Having won a majority of Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency seats in Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Warangal along with the TRS, the Congress decided to contest the chairman's post in Karimnagar and Warangal, and support its junior partner for the ZP chairman post in Nizamabad and the Vice-chairman's post in Medak, Warangal and Karimnagar.

In a joint statement, Pradesh Congress President K Keshava Rao, MP, and TRS Parliamentary Board Chairman and Union Minister of State A Narendra said as per the accord, the Congress would also facilitate election of TRS candidate as coopted member in one of these four districts. One coopted member of TRS has already been elected in Mahbubnagar.

Necessary whip would be issued by the parties to respective members for strict adherence to the poll pact at the time of voting, they added.

It may be noted that though the two parties reached an agreement on July 9, they were unsuccessful in implementing it, resulting in postponment of polls by the State Election Commission due to lack of quorum and both parties went to the brink of snapping ties after that.

The Congress which has won 17 of the 22 ZPs leaving just two to the TDP in the indirect elections on July 10, is now now in a position to take its tally to 19, while the TRS will have to satisfy itself with lone ZP of Nizamabad. The Congress has already won the Medak ZP chairman post in Medak while the election of Vice-chairman in the ZP has been postponed.

UNI SM VV RL PM1937