Countdown to Telangana LS polls: Watch out for face-offs in these key seats

Hyderabad: The fourth phase of the General Elections brings voting for the 17 Parliament seats of Telangana on May 13. The stakes are high for Indian National Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Bharatiya Janata Party; the three main parties fighting the battle for the 17 Lok Sabha seats.

A total of 525 candidates are contesting for 17 seats in Telangana, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Of these 286 are independents with the highest number of independent candidates from Peddapalli, Nizamabad, Zahirabad, Karimnagar, Medak, Chevella, Bhongir, Mahabubnagar, Malkajgiri, Secunderabad, Warangal and Khammam.

Election campaign

The election campaigning has been of high decibel with every party trying its best to grab the attention of the voters. The Congress party promoted a ‘donkey’s egg’ in every Parliamentary constituency, with the egg representing what has been given by the Central government of prime minister Narendra Modi to the people of the state.

In their reply, the Telangana BJP unit said that the Congress has given ‘baigan’ to the state in the name of guarantees.

BRS was not far behind as it discussed water, power cuts and jobs of the youth. BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao was on a bus yatra, talking to people about the water crisis and reimbursements for crops to the farmers.

Seats to watch out for in Telangana

Hyderabad: The sitting Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM is fighting the election for the fifth time here. He has been an MP from Hyderabad since 2004. Owaisi and his team have indulged in reaching out to people instead of a high-octane campaign.

His main opponent is BJP’s Madhavi Latha who is said to have made her mark on the constituents due to the ground work done by the party’s Delhi unit. She has been talking about the development of Old City, Pasmanda Muslims and also triple talaq in her campaign.

Congress candidate Sameer Walliulah’s campaign revolved around jobs and the development of the Old City. Though he has been trying to talk about development instead of polarisation, the takers are few for him.

Chevella: Dr Ranjeet Reddy is the sitting Member of Parliament who switched from BRS to Congress. Dr Reddy is known for his work in the region on health and education. In his first term, his work has made a mark for him.

His opponent is Dr Vishweshwar Reddy of the BJP. Dr Reddy in 2019 contested from a Congress ticket. He was the sitting MP from Chevella for BRS in 2014. The contest between the two Reddys is said to be very close in the constituency.

Mahabubnagar: It’s a tough contest in Mahabubnagar as an erstwhile Congress minister in YS Rajasekhara Reddy and Rosaiah government is contesting the election on a BJP ticket. DK Aruna, the BJP candidate for Mahabubnagar is a known face in the region. A lot of women supporters and ground workers are familiar with her style of work which is giving her an edge.

Congress candidate Challa Vamsichand Reddy has set up an aggressive fight as chief minister Revanth Reddy and his core team are looking into the election process. MLAs and other senior members are monitoring the situation in Mahabubnagar making it a high-octane contest.

BRS is also putting up a fight with its sitting MP Manne Srinivas in the constituency.

Adilabad: At the border of Telangana and Maharashtra with an expansive forest area, Adilabad has a population of tribals, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The voters are diligent and aware of the political landscape in the region and country. The fight is tough between Congress candidate Atram Suguna and BJP candidate Godam Nagesh.

Godam Nagesh won from Adilabad in 2014 as a BRS MP.

Nizamabad: In this region, the problems of turmeric farmers and the sugar factories dominated the region as these promises have not been fulfilled in the last 10 years.

Although the Central government has declared the Turmeric Board, the place and time of its establishment are not known yet. BJP sitting MP and candidate Arvind Dharmapuri is fighting against senior Congress leader and candidate Jeevan Reddy in the region. Dharmapuri is highlighting the achievements of the Modi government in his district to the people.

Karimnagar: BJP sitting Member of Parliament Bandi Sanjay is hoping to encash on the popularity of prime minister Narendra Modi in the region. Adjacent to Siddipet district, the works which happened in the neighbouring district do not reflect in Karimnagar which has got the people angry.

The region is a hub for small and medium businesses.

Congress candidate Velichala Rajender Rao was declared in the last minute and the Congress workers state that they have lost a good amount of campaigning due to it. They are trying to bank on the guarantees of the Congress government in this district.

Secunderabad: It is the bellwether seat according to political pundits. A bellwether seat is where the margins are more than one lakh votes. The party that wins this seat will also form the government at the Centre, according to political pundits.

The Secunderabad MP candidate for BJP is the sitting Member of Parliament and Union minister G Kishan Reddy who has been nominated again for the seat. Kishan Reddy had a high-octane campaign reaching out to various sectors and people in the city. The works of PM Modi have been highlighted to impress upon the people the role of Telangana state and this constituency.

Congress party candidate is Danam Nagender who from nomination till the submission of the B form was in the news.

Nagender is an MLA from Khairtabad from the BRS party. After the Assembly elections, he switched from BRS to the Congress party. His switch led to a legal battle and there was also a lot of speculation about whether the Congress party would change the candidate till the last minute.

The fight in Secunderabad is tough between the BJP and Congress.

BRS candidate T Padma Rao Goud is also well known in the constituency but there is lots of speculation whether the voters will opt for him despite being a towering and well-recognised personality.

Malkajgiri: Eatala Rajender was a former health minister of the BRS government in Telangana who switched to the BJP. He is fighting a battle in Malkajgiri.

The Sitting Member of Parliament from Malkajgiri Revanth Reddy is now the chief minister of Telangana State. The Malkajgiri seat took him to Delhi and he is said to have understood the power corridors and politics in Delhi.

The seat is prestigious for Revanth Reddy as it marked his stature in the local politics of the state and also Delhi. Congress party candidate Patnam Sunitha’s campaign has been low profile compared to Rajender.

BRS candidate R Laxma Reddy put out boards in the constituency giving an impression to people about whom they can reach out to as he is the nearest for them.

Bhongir: Despite the sitting MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy from the Congress party, the battle of Bhongir is found to be tough.

There is a large percentage of the Goud community and the BJP candidate Boora Narsaiah Goud is stated to have an edge. Congress has fielded Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy who is a new face in the constituency. The fight is said to be a close one.

With CM Revanth visiting every Parliament constituency and there being a huge cadre base at work there are still these seats where the battle is tough.