HYDERABAD: Grab some popcorn as the climax scene of Telangana Assembly elections is likely to be a nail-biter, which is surprising as it was earlier perceived to be a one-sided affair in favour of the incumbent Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). When Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao announced his decision to dissolve the Assembly prematurely, on September 6, and advance the elections by a good nine months, many believed it was just a matter of going through the motions, for him to be back in the saddle.
Things have taken a sharp turn since then, and for a variety of reasons—an unconvincing argument in favour of early polls; the coming together of anti-TRS forces; and the underlying discontent among some sections of people that are now beginning to surface. Now that he is travelling across the State, once again, KCR is back to using his trump card—the Telangana sentiment. True, it worked in 2014. But, will it yield the same results now, considering that other factors like performance and accessibility of elected representatives are also at play? That remains to be seen.
To be fair, there was a decent amount of development work undertaken in the 4.5 years of TRS governance—uninterrupted power supply was delivered to both domestic and agricultural sectors; accessibility to safe drinking water has largely improved; a host of irrigation projects are underway to reduce farmers’ dependence on monsoon and borewells.
On the flip side, the “family rule” tag hangs like a Damocles Sword over the pink party, not to forget the anti-incumbency factor that may affect the incumbent MLAs. As far as the Grand Alliance is concerned, it all depends on how people will respond to attempts by Telugu Desam Party to reestablish its presence in Telangana State. A victory for the Grand Alliance in Telangana will not only boost Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s ongoing attempts to forge an anti-BJP front at the national level but might also dent the confidence of his bête noir, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, ahead of the 2019 simultaneous elections for Andhra Pradesh and the Lok Sabha.
“I want to vote for the Congress nominee in my constituency. But is it true that the TDP will demand Home Ministry if the alliance comes to power?” was the poser by an auto driver in Nalgonda district. In one sense, this sums up the mood among people of Telangana: should they stick to the homegrown party, whatever its deficiencies; or should they give the Congress an opportunity despite its alliance with Telugu Desam, branded as a party belonging to the Andhra Pradesh?
KCR, for his part, is leaving no opportunity to drive home this point. “Do you still want a party thrown out of the State to lord over you through the back door, with Congress acting as its front?” he asks the public at almost every public meeting. Meanwhile, Grand Alliance keeps reminding the public that, after all, it was Sonia Gandhi who delivered Telangana.
Adding a sentimental touch during her debut visit to the new State, Sonia Gandhi, at a recent public meeting, struck a chord by telling people that she felt like a mother coming back to her child (Telangana). “I feel sorry that your hopes of getting a better deal with a separate State have been dashed during TRS rule,” she said, adding it was time for them to revisit their thoughts.
Notwithstanding all the sound and fury, the BJP is expected to be a significant player in only a few seats but its leaders are striving hard to boost the vote percentage. Leaving aside the seven seats which are considered Majlis strongholds, the fight in the remaining 112 seats is essentially between TRS and the Grand Alliance with the BJP playing spoilsport.