Activist Gaddar eyeing Congress innings?

New Delhi: Revolutionary singer and poet Gummadi Vittal Rao, popularly known as Gaddar, who was one of the foremost voices for a separate state of Telangana, met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday, sparking speculation of his possible switch from the Left to the Congress ahead of the December 7 Assembly elections.

In a Facebook post shortly after the meeting at 12.45 pm, Mr Gandhi said, “Earlier today, I met with the revolutionary Telugu poet and dalit rights activist Gaddar. Amongst the many issues we discussed was how to defend our constitution from systematic attack by the forces of fascism that seek to undermine it.”

Mr Rao’s meeting with the Gandhis is significant as till now he has been a part of the CPI(M)-backed Bahujan Left Front, which has aligned with actor Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party and not tied-up with the TDP-Congress-CPI Op-position alliance or “Mahakutami”. As far as the BLF is concerned, CPI(M) — the chief consti-tuent of the 28-party force — has been split over the question of whether to align with the Congress.

The pro-Congress and anti-Congress schools of thought in the Left are basically seen fronts for a battle between general secretary Sitaram Yechury and his predecessor Prakash Karat. Hence the decision of the Telangana unit of the party, which backs Mr Karat, to not align with the Congress is being seen by many as a fallout of this intra-party feud.

Last month, speculation was rife that the BLF was planning to pit Mr Rao, who had played a prominent role in the Telangana agitation, against CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao in the Assembly polls.

The Congress’ interest in the poet might also stem from the fact that Telangana Jana Samithi, led by Muddasani Kodandaram, a significant constituent of the TDP-Congress Opposition alliance, has been playing hardball seeking more seats.

While Mr Kodandaram is considered the father of the Telangana struggle, the Congress is in no mood to accommodate his current demands. If Mr Rao decides to join forces with TDP-Congress-CPI alliance, it will be seen as an effort to counter Mr Kodandaram’s demands and his stature.

Assembly polls in Telangana will be held on December 7 and counting will be held on December 11. The 119-member Assembly currently has 90 members from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi  (TRS), 13 from the Congress, seven of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen  (AIMIM), five from the BJP, three from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)  and one from the CPI(M).