Telangana Assembly polls: TJS says it will contest for 12 seats

Hyderabad : In another jolt to the 'Mahakutami' (Grand Alliance) of opposition parties in Telangana, TJS on Wednesday announced that it will contest in 12 constituencies in the next month's assembly elections.

Even before the constituents could reach a formal agreement over seat sharing, the fledgling Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) announced the list of constituencies where it plans to field its candidates.

TJS Vice President P.L. Vishweshwar Rao told reporters that TJS will contest for the seats of Dubbaka, Medak, Malkajgiri, Amberpet, Siddipet, Warangal East, Vardhannapeta, Asifabad, Station Ghanpur, Jangaon, Mahabubnagar and Miryalguda.

Stating that TJS is contesting only in those constituencies where it is strong, Rao said discussion could continue on seat sharing.

Elections to the 119-member Assembly are scheduled to be held on December 7. The last date for filing of nominations is November 19.

The Congress party, which is heading the alliance, has already announced that it will contest 95 seats, leaving 24 for other constituents - Telugu Desam Party (TDP), TJS and Communist Party of India (CPI). They stated that TDP has been allotted 14 seats while 10 will be shared by TJS and CPI.

However, TJS leader M. Kodandaram, who met Congress President Rahul Gandhi on November 2, had demanded 17 seats.

CPI has also announced candidates for 9 seats, blaming inordinate delay in seat sharing for its unilateral decision.

Congress has so far announced 75 candidates while TDP has declared its candidates for nine constituencies.