Coalition hints dropped in Telangana: After BJP says it could support TRS but not AIMIM, Cong-TDP courts Owaisis' party

In a significant development ahead of the election results in Telangana, the BJP, via its state chief K Laxman, has dropped a massive hint that it would be open to lending support to KCR's TRS if the opportunity arises to form a government in the state. However, the BJP's support comes with a rider, which is that the AIMIM must not be in the same alliance.

In response to this, TRS sources have told Republic TV that the party is not looking for the support of the BJP and would rather remain close to the AIMIM. And sensationally, taking a cue from the BJP's hint, the Congress has said that if the TRS and BJP form an alliance, then the AIMIM can ally with the Congress.

Polemics over which party was whose B-team and C-team had dominated the campaigning for the elections, with Rahul Gandhi being particularly unsparing in his allegations that TRS and BJP were in cahoots, while PM Modi did the exact same thing by alleging that the Congress and TRS were playing a fixed match. Electioneering began early after KCR dissolved the state assembly six months ahead of schedule necessitating elections. Following this, the TDP and Congress ended years of animosity as Chandrababu Naidu and Rahul Gandhi formed an alliance in the state. Meanwhile, the TRS and AIMIM had spoken about each other in friendly terms in the context of a post-polls alliance.

The poll of exit polls for Telangana had projected that KCR's gambit of early elections had paid off, with the TRS being shown as being likely to form a government, possibly with a majority on its own, ahead of the Congress-TDP alliance, with the BJP and AIMIM projected to bag sufficient seats each to play a role in government formation if it arises. 

Results are to be announced for the Telangana, as well as the other four states, on December 11. 

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