Third front: Why it would derail in Telangana, AP

The plans to set up the third front are no doubt intensifying, but the inclusion of the Congress could hamper the idea in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Mamata Banerjee has been leading the bandwagon and is trying to get like-minded parties including the Congress on board.

However, the Congress coming on board may not go down too well in the Telugu states. Both the TRS and TDP will not sail with the Congress as it would directly affect their chances Telangana and AP.

While the TDP has been anti-Congress since its inception in 1982, the TRS it may be recalled fought directly against the party in the 2014 elections. The TRS had realised that sailing with the Congress would affect its own vote bank.

Both Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrasekhar Rao have opposed the inclusion of the Congress. Rao even made this point clear when he met with former Jharkhand chief minister, Hemant Soren to discuss the third front.

Rao has had several run-ins with the Congress in recent times. In 2014, he had assured the Congress of an alliance but went the other way in the last moment. Recently after the expulsion of two Congress MLAs and the suspension of all Congress MLAs and MLCs from the House, the two parties have been in a constant state of war.

OneIndia News