The Congress central leadership has succeeded in wooing back rebel MP from Peddapalli G. Vivekanand and his brother, former Minister G. Vinod to the party fold.
“Yes, I am under tremendous pressure to rejoin the Congress,” Dr. Vivekanand told The Hindu from New Delhi on Sunday. “Congress leaders told me that there was no need for me to hang around in TRS when the new Telangana State has been created,” he said.
The rebel MP, who met AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh on Sunday, was reportedly advised that it was better for him to join the Congress. “I will take the final call tonight,” the MP said adding that he had quit Congress along with others to join the TRS to fight for Telangana.
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He diplomatically said that after the Congress had fulfilled its promise of separate Telangana, he was now forced to give a serious thought to rejoining the Congress. Dr. Vivek claimed that he had broached the idea of alliance with the AICC general secretary but the bid may not succeed because of certain issues. He refused to elaborate on what was the issue that was creating hurdles for an electoral tie-up.
Highly-placed Congress sources said certain demands put forth by TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao had disappointed the party leadership. A top Congress leader is said to have remarked that no pre-conditions could be set for the alliance.
“Everything could have been settled after the elections. But, the TRS leadership is not in a mood to listen to us,” the Congress leader is said to have remarked when some politicians met them in Delhi in the last two days.
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Dr. Vivek is assured of renomination from Peddapalli parliamentary constituency while the Congress would like to ensure that his brother G. Vinod is also accommodated from a suitable constituency. He was last elected in 2004 from Chennur Assembly constituency in Adilabad district but lost the 2009 polls to the TRS nominee.