Left, BRS set to present a potent combination

Khammam: After the Munugodu bypoll in the state, the left parties have moved close to the BRS party. The relations have been further strengthened with the recent Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) public meeting in Khammam.

The left party leaders are pleased with the release of funds for the new cable bridge in the town. It was the first time the CPM leaders praised the government programmes in the state. Earlier, they were critical of the BRS government policies and fought on people's issues. They also faced cases and were even put in jails. But after the Khammam public meeting, there is a conspicuous in their attitude towards the pink party.

Knowing well the importance of the Left parties in the national politics into which the BRS has forayed of late, the ruling party, too, is according much importance to the Left leaders. It invited state secretaries of CPI and CPM Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao and Tammineni Veerabhadram respectively, along with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, CPI national secretary D Raja and senior CPI leader Puvvada Nageswara Rao. The national Left leaders were also given precedence in delivering speeches at the public meeting. It showed how much the pink party was valuing the alliance with the left parties in exhibiting a socialist stance at the national level.

During the meeting, the Left party leaders heaped lavish praise on KCR's policies and wished to work with him in mounting an attack on the BJP leadership across the country. Speaking to The Hans India, one of the leaders described the Khammam meeting success as a good augury for the coming together of the like-minded parties in resisting the 'anti-people policies' of the Narendra Modi government. That the senior leaders of both the Left parties hail from Khammam district also made the matters easy for firming up the alliance.

It should be noted here that the BRS party on its own contested the elections. Though it came to power in the state again, it suffered a huge loss in the district with no support coming from the left parties. The development benefited the Congress party. As the BRS party is aiming at a hat-trick in the state, it views the support of Left parties crucial as the Congress party is raring to expand its footprint and win over public support with a series of mass outreach programmes.

The ruling party is in no mood this time to give any space to the BJP and the Congress in the next elections and hence its increasing preference to tie up with the Left electorally, the Left leader said, adding that they are not averse to any tieup with the pink party in the larger scheme of things to take on the BJP at the national level.