With the Presidential elections just around the corner, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Thursday said it would support the candidate of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), only if it would be in the favour of their state.
However, the party also warned they will turn against the Government if they don’t work for Telangana’s welfare.
“If it is good for the Centre and also good for our state (Telangana) then we will definitely support the government,” TRS MP Jithender Reddy told the media.
As President Pranab Mukherjee’s term is set to end this July, all political heavyweights have started flexing their muscles to place their ‘choice’ in the seat of de jure power as head of the nation.
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The Opposition’s efforts to pitch for a joint candidate for the presidential elections are set to gain ground in the next days with Congress president Sonia Gandhi expecting to meet Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) working president M.K. Stalin.
Sonia Gandhi, who has been out of the political scene for quite some time now, has been holding meetings with various political leaders and according to sources, she yesterday met National Conference leader Omar Abdullah.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi also spoke to Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, while Sonia spoke to Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav.
Last week, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Sonia had held a discussion on putting up a joint opposition candidate.
So far, Sonia has held meetings with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI’s D Raja on the same issue.
As the election is near, the idea of a united opposition will face a litmus test in the election which needs to be held before July 25, the day when President Mukherjee’s term expires.