RPI demands 40 seats to partner with BJP

Hyderabad: Republican Party of India (RPI) national president and Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale here on Saturday said his party has decided to contest in alliance with the BJP in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Telangana State. Addressing the media here, Ramdas Athwale said the party is an alliance partner of the NDA government at the Centre, led by the BJP, and in Maharashtra and other States. “I personally talked to Union Health Minister J P Nadda, who is the in-charge of the Telangana State. I have also spoken to State BJP president K Laxman,” he said.

The RPI State party chief Nageswara Rao met Laxman and other State BJP leaders and sought 40 seats for the party. However, the BJP had asked the RPI to contest from 19 reserved constituencies. The RPI belonged to all the communities and all religions. “If the BJP cannot allocate 40 seats, then we will independently contest in around 50 Assembly segments. But we will extend our support to the BJP in the remaining seats.  That apart, the party will also seek the post of deputy chief minister for the RPI, in the event of the BJP forming the government in the State” he said. Stating that the KCR government had failed to contain the atrocities against Dalits, Athwale appealed to the people of Telangana State to extend their support to BJP-RPI alliance in the ensuing elections. 

The people of the State had given enough time to TRS and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. But the TRS government had failed to fulfil the election promises. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focusing on development and appealed to the people to support the BJP in Telangana. He said the BJP would ensure faster pace of development in the State.  He also appealed to Dalits, Muslims, OBCs to support BJP–RPI alliance in Telangana State.