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Who Brokered The 'VELKAM' Deal?

Who Brokered The 'VELKAM' Deal?

The latest buzzword doing rounds in the Telangana politics these days is 'VELKAM,' which sounds like 'welcome.' 

And the meaning of it is quite obvious: the new-found love between Velama and Kamma groups. To be more specific, it is the understanding between the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the Telugu Desam Party.

However, sources say it is not exactly a new-found love. Ever since TRS president and Telangana CM KCR dealt a master stroke on the TDP with the cash-for-vote scam two years ago and forced TDP president and AP CM Chandrababu to shift his base lock-stock-barrel to Vijayawada and Amaravati.

Since the episode, there had been a lot of backroom negotiations between the TDP and TRS leadership.

While it was Tummala Nageshwar Rao who operated from the TRS side, it was his close relative and TDP Rajya Sabha member Garikapati Mohan Rao who played a major role in the deliberations from the TRS side. Needless to say, Garikapati is also a Kamma and a close confidant of Naidu.

It was only after this deal that the TDP has decided against moving a petition in the court seeking disqualification of the defected MLAs.

The earlier petition filed by Errabelli Dayakar Rao became infructuous as the latter, too, joined the TRS. Though Revanth wanted to move a fresh petition, Naidu prevented him from doing so, say the sources.

Sources said as per the VELKAM deal, the TRS leadership reportedly offered 17 Assembly seats and two ministerial berths for TDP in 2019, besides Rajyasabha seat to Motkupalli Narsimhulu in 2018 and second Rajyasabha term to Garikapati Mohan Rao in 2020.

In return, the TDP will mobilise the Kamma voters in the Telangana in support of the TRS in the assembly elections.

This has angered Revanth Reddy and other Reddy community leaders of the TDP, who have been waging a war against the TRS.

Obviously, Revanth cannot keep silent if the TDP has an alliance with the TRS and hence, he has decided to join the Congress party.