India’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on Monday announced the assembly poll schedule for five states. Gazette notification for the elections in Telangana will be issued on November 3, and the last date to file nominations is November 10. The scrutiny of the nominations will be taken up on November 13 and the last date of withdrawal of candidature is November 15. Voting will take place in a single phase on November 30 and the results will be out on December 3. The entire election process would be completed by December 5.
Major political parties in the state have already started campaigning across the state. The ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s working president KT Rama Rao and minister T Harish Rao have been leading the party’s electioneering with whirlwind tours and by launching populist government schemes and programmes across the state. The Congress has been criticising the ruling party on all fronts even as it is busy finalising candidates for the polls. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also campaigning across the state on par with the BRS and Congress, and is preparing its list of nominees. All the parties vying to rule the state have their own strengths and weaknesses.
The ruling BRS, which came to power after Telangana was carved out of united Andhra Pradesh in 2014, has been telling voters that it played a key role in achieving statehood. The party won power in the state twice in the last two elections. It bagged the required seats to form the government in the 2014 elections, and later welcomed rebel MLAs from the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to strengthen it shold. The BRS went for early polls in 2018, citing a positive atmosphere in its favour. It won 88 of the state’s 119 assembly seats, proving its might once again in Telangana politics. Later, it admitted several Congress MLAs one by one into its fold, depriving the grand old party the status of main opposition in the state assembly. With more than 100 MLAs in its kitty, the BRS has been ruling the state unchallenged. This time, it started poll preparations six months ago. On the governance front, the pink party announced a slew of populist development programmes and welfare schemes to lure voters and also declared the names of its candidates about one and a half months ago. It has taken the lead in electioneering among all the key players, say observers.
BRS in ‘poll position’
Starting with the ruling BRS, its strengths include direct money transfer to the accounts of beneficiaries through Rythu Bandhu, Dalit Bandhu, and Chethivruthulaku Cheyutha (a helping hand to traditional handicraftsmen of backward classes with Rs 1 lakh), completion of irrigation projects, early announcement of candidates, taking the lead in campaigning, welcoming deserters from opposition parties and allotting nominated posts to some of them. When it comes to drawbacks or weaknesses, the present MLAs once again being in the poll fray can further fuel anti-incumbency sentiments.
Some leaders who played a prominent role in the Telangana movement and those in the second rung have been expressing displeasure against party bigwigs after not getting election tickets.
“This time the party has to allot tickets to me. If not, I will see how the sitting MLA wins the seat. How long do we have to wait? The sitting MLA was elected twice, and if he scores a hat trick, there could be a danger of me having to disappear from the political arena. If he loses this election, the party will come to know about my capabilities and at least I will get the ticket the next time,” a BRS leader who occupies a powerful post told News18 on the condition of anonymity.
Though present MLAs Thatikonda Rajaiah and Muthireddy Yadagiri Reddy have not been nominated for the polls, efforts to mollify dissidents are yet to completely succeed. The non-implementation of the promise to provide monthly stipend to the unemployed, three acres of land to Dalits, non-completion of 2BHK houses, and completed houses allegedly allotted to followers of party leaders are some of the allegations against the BRS. The criticism on commissions to the ruling party leaders under the Dalit Bandhu Scheme, which provides Rs 10 lakh each to Dalits, and that the followers of MLAs have benefitted from the scheme meant to provide Rs 1 lakh each to the backward classes have come as setbacks for the pink party.
“There will be anti-incumbency against a 10-year-old government. The ruling party has been doing so many things to overcome it. Let us see how far the efforts will work out in favour of it. There are allegations that government bigwigs have done a lot of corruption in programmes such as Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS), Mission Bhagiratha, Mission Kakatiya, and Regional Ring Road. It is also alleged that the chief ministers office (CMO) gets a large chunk of the funds whenever a major project has been launched. The opposition parties brought the evidence on the allegations to light in some instances. Though the election schedule has been announced, there is a lot of time before the polls. Anything can happen in the meantime,” senior journalist Marthi Subrahmanyam told News18.
He also said that the autocracy of MLAs in their respective constituencies may bruise the BRS’s poll prospects.
Congress counts on anti-incumbency
The Congress, the main opposition in the state, hopes to benefit from the anti-incumbency sentiments against the BRS government. It has also been trying to bring BRS dissidents into its fold. After the joining of former MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and former minister Tummala Nageswar Rao from the undivided Khammam district and Jupalli Krishna Rao from the undivided Mahabubnagar district, the Congress has gained strength in these areas.
The party has been suffering from internal disputes, but there appears to be “unorganised unity” among leaders after being deprived of power for almost 10 years. Having tasted victory in the recent Karnataka elections has motivated the party to secure a victory in Telangana at any cost. State Congress leaders feel they should move forward by reaching a consensus and maintaining coordination with the party high command when it comes to allotment of tickets and poll campaign.
BJP losing steam?
Though the BJP and BRS have been making allegations against each other, after the BJP government at the Centre seemingly failed to act tough towards KCR’s daughter Kavitha in the alleged Delhi liquor scam case, many observers are of the opinion that the two parties may have a tacit understanding with a common agenda. The appointment of central minister G Kishan Reddy as BJP’s state chief, replacing Bandi Sanjay, has tempered its aggressive activities against the ruling pink party. The BJP, which had five MLAs in its kitty in 2014, appears to be backing Raja Singh from the Goshamahal constituency after he was suspended for anti-party activities. Though Raghunandan Rao and Etela Rajender were elected as MLAs in by-elections, the BJP has been struggling to field candidates for the upcoming elections.
“The BJP has made so many allegations against the BRS. Congress state unit chief Revanth Reddy has submitted evidence to the CBI and the ED in this regard. But no action was taken against the BRS. When it comes to Kavitha’s role in the liquor scam, they (BJP) created an atmosphere that she would be arrested at any moment. But they finally didn’t do anything. This has generally created a feeling among the public that the BJP and the BRS are sailing in the same boat,” said analyst Marti Subrahmanyam.
Others in the fray
The AIMIM, which has been supporting the BRS since the day of the formation of Telangana, has been focusing on the seven seats it won in the last elections. The other parties in the state also left these seven seats to the AIMIM, competing with each other for the rest. The same may happen this time as well, say observers. But there is a chance that the AIMIM may contest all 119 seats in Telangana to split the anti-government votes.
The BSP under the leadership of former IPS officer Praveen Kumar and the YSRTP under YS Sharmila, sister of Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, are also in the fray for the November 30 Telangana polls.
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