High-profile visits and the sounding of the poll horn by senior politicians have established the setting for a heated political struggle ahead of the November 30 Assembly elections in Telangana, where the governing BRS is seeking a third consecutive term and the opposition BJP and Congress are also vying. The Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is banking on the development work it has done over the last 10 years, while the opposition Congress and BJP are banking on anti-incumbency and the incumbent's claimed failings.
The Telangana legislature has 119 members. The ruling BRS has already selected 115 candidates in August, far ahead of the competition and benefiting from a head start in terms of campaigning.
The remaining BRS candidates will also be released soon.
Putta Vishnuvardhan Reddy, official spokesperson for the BRS, informed PTI that "we are far ahead of other parties in the game because Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has announced the candidates list. He has allowed the candidates more than 100 days to campaign in public." According to Reddy, the Congress party, which made various promises during the Karnataka elections, is now struggling to keep them.
"BRS will win between 95-105 seats out of the total of 119 in the upcoming assembly polls," Rao told reporters.
KT Rama Rao, BRS Working President and the son of KCR, has been traversing the state and speaking at various forums.
Senior Telangana BJP leader N Ramachandra Rao stated that his party is well prepared for the elections, adding that the central leadership's travels to the state are also being arranged.
"Every poll arrangement is underway. We will jump into the poll fray with all vigour," Rao was quoted by PTI in its report.
When questioned about the BJP's initial list of candidates, he stated that they were awaiting the poll notice and that now that it has been issued, the names will be released in a couple of days.
He stated that the list includes the names of other candidates in case any changes are necessary.
In response to a question, he stated that the BRS revealing its list ahead of time will hurt the candidates since they will face anti-incumbency.
PM Modi visited Telangana twice in a week, with only a day between visits, and unveiled developmental infrastructure projects worth over Rs 21,000 crore. On October 1 and 3, he addressed two public gatherings, enthusing the party cadre.
Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, is set to attend a rally in Adilabad on October 10 and will also meet with important professionals and intellectuals on the same day.
Madhu Yashki, Chairman of the Telangana PCC Campaign Committee and a former Lok Sabha member, stated that his party's election campaign began on the day of the Congress Working Committee meeting held here on September 16. The next day, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and key leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi staged a rally to commemorate the start of the party's election campaign.
"We are fully prepared for the Telangana Assembly polls. We have already announced the six guarantees. The rally we conducted on September 17 is the biggest one in the country (an indication of growing support for Congress)," Yashki said.
He stated that the screening committee for picking candidates for the Assembly elections had completed its work and that the list will be issued soon by the CWC.
The CPI-M and CPI are in talks with Congress about forming a pre-election coalition.