Moily halts Congress-PRP alliance in its tracks

The talks between the ruling Congress party and the Praja Rajyam Party for a tie-up for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation on Monday suffered a major setback.

The scheduled meeting between PRP president Chiranjeevi and Chief Minister K Rosaiah on Monday evening was cancelled after the All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Veerappa Moily announced that alliance with PRP was not on the Congress' agenda. He told the media in New Delhi that neither the Congress was having any alliance with the PRP, nor was there a need for talks about the alliance.

The statement came as a jolt to the state Congress as well as the PRP, as they were pressing ahead with the talks for seat sharing for the November 23 elections to the GHMC.

Moily's statement came even as the state Congress party chief D Srinivas had claimed that his talks with the PRP for alliance had the approval of the high command.

The PRP on the other hand had decided to go for the alliance to strengthen itself.

The political affairs committee of the PRP, chaired by Chiranjeevi, met on Monday and unanimously decided in favor of alliance. But within few hours, the situation took a turn leaving the PRP leadership stunned.

Expressing pain over the change in the Congress' stand, Chirnajeevi said the whole episode had sent wrong signals about the PRP to the people.

Senior PRP leader C Ramachandraiah said the PRP had nothing to do with what Moily had said.

"We spoke to the Congress after D Srinivas came to us with the proposal of alliance. We are not begging for alliance. It is for Srinivas to clarify what Moily was saying," he said.

Moily may have taken the decision after there were many differences within the state Congress on the issue of alliance with the PRP.

The move for alliance was seen by the supporters of YS Jaganmohan Reddy as an attempt by their detractors to sideline them.

Several pro-Jagan ministers including Greater Hyderabad Congress president D Nagendar, agriculture minister N Raghuveera Reddy, Congress MPs forum convenor Ponnam Prabhakar and Vijaywada MP L Rajagopal had opposed the alliance.

"The Congress is strong enough to win all the 150 seats of the GHMC on its own," Nagendar said.

The group has, instead, suggested that the PRP should merge itself with the Congress.

On the other hand, known detractors of Jagan -- including senior leader V Hanumantha Rao and former minister and senior legislator J C Diwakar Reddy -- have supported the idea of alliance.

However, Moily's announcement has left Srinivas acutely embarrassed, as his claim of having the support of the high command has gone kaput.