HYDERABAD: THE battle for Serilingampally has gotten intense. BJP pick G Yoganand has gained more ground in the area, threatening to eat into share of usual favourites like TDP & TRS. Whose share will go is the big question now. On the ground, it seems like TRS is poised to perform better.
It has the support of minorities, marginalised who have benefitted from welfare schemes. The TDP, on the other hand, is banking mostly on settlers’ vote share. “My family is based in Medak and we have some agricultural land there... Just yesterday I received Rs 4,000 as part of the input subsidy scheme launched by this government. So, why won’t I vote for TRS?” says Motiram, who runs a small snack shop in Madhapur.
“In the last four years we only saw TRS workers. They helped us get our ration cards and Aadhaar cards...” says Konda Reddy from Chandanayak Nagar who hails from Ongole. The “settler factor” could still tilt the game towards TDP feel some others as not all of them would be receiving the benefits from TRS government.
“KCR brags about helping the poor. But what about the middle class? I never got a single penny from KCR. He did not notify a single job in the last 2 years. Why vote for him again?” asks Sudhakar K from Kondapur.
In the previous polls, it was TDP which defeated TRS candidate by winning a vote share of 46.21%. TRS managed to win a mere 19.06 per cent. The winning MLA, however, defected to TRS and will contest now from the pink party. This time TDP has fielded B Anand Prasad, who is not a well known face amongst people but enjoys the support of the local Congress leader Bhikshapati Yadav.