HYDERABAD: Contrary to expectations, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s web of magic did not work as effectively in the Lok Sabha elections as it did in the Assembly polls in Telangana state, probably because the people felt that the elections to the Lower House are meant for formation of the Central government, where the TRS would have a limited or no role.
As a result, at the end of counting of votes polled for the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, the TRS ended up with just nine in its kitty, losing four to the BJP and three to the Congress. Asaduddin Owaisi, of AIMIM, who is TRS’ ally, walked away with Hyderabad with a majority of over 2.75 lakh votes.
TRS working president K T Rama Rao, reacting to the results, said he was content. “I thank the people for giving us a majority of seats. We will go over what went wrong and where... particulary in Nizamabad and Karimnagar.” In Nizamabad, his sister Kavitha lost the election, while in Karimnagar, the party’s senior leader and sitting MP B Vinod Kumar could not make the cut.
Another disconcerting development was that the TRS’ margins of victory, where it had won, came down significantly from those of 2014. For instance, BB Patil in Nizamabad won by 6,166 votes, while in 2014, his lead was 1.44 lakh votes.
The TRS won Chevella, Medak, Zaheerabad, Mahabubnagar, Nagarkurnool, Peddapalli, Mahabubabad, Warangal and Khammam, while the BJP retained Secunderbad and wrested Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, and the Congress cornered three seats - Malkajgiri, Nalgonda and Bhongir.
What warmed the cockles of Congress leaders was the election of TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy from Nalgonda, K Vekatareddy from Bhongir, and A Revanth Reddy from Malkajgiri, which indicated a possibility of rebuilding the party.
The BJP’s performance is attributed mainly to PM Narendra Modi, who can switch on his charm at will. It helped G Kishan Reddy, Soyam Bapu Rao, Bandi Sanjay and D Arvind win Secunderabad, Adilabad, Karimnagar and Nizamabad respectively.
Even the people who were not emotionally involved with the BJP seemed to have looked to the saffron party in the wake of the surgical strikes that India conducted on terrorist hideouts in Pakistan to avenge Pulwama pogrom, among others.