)
Congress leaders from Telangana, still smarting under the TRS' refusal to merge with the national party, has written a letter to the high command against tie-up with any party and said they could contest the upcoming elections on their own.
"We are not craving for merger or alliance with any party. Only the Congress has the guts and capacity to fight the elections on its own," the leaders said in an apparent reference to K Chandrasekhar Rao-led Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS)'s move against merger.
The leaders, however, left the final decision to the discretion of the Congress high command, saying the leadership could take a call based on overall needs.
The Telangana Congress leaders met at the residence of former minister K Jana Reddy this afternoon and discussed the political scene in the aftermath of the TRS' snub to Congress on merger.
They wanted the high command to "guide" them on the issue in tune with its thinking at the national level.
Taking a snipe at the TRS, Jana Reddy told reporters that Telangana state did not happen because of parties that had two or three MPs.
"Telangana happened only because of Sonia Gandhi's sheer determination. It wouldn't have happened otherwise," he observed.
"A cross-section of people fought for a separate state and the Congress leaders from the region joined the struggle.Thus, Telangana became a reality," Jana Reddy said.
Reconstruction of Telangana and also a 'social Telangana' were possibly only through the Congress, he said, apparently countering claims of TRS and TDP in this regard.
Interestingly, Jana Reddy is said to be a front-runner for the post of the president of new Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, expected to be constituted in a few days.
