Telangana Elections 2023: Despite anti-incumbency worries, southern Telangana remains a BRS stronghold

Despite facing criticism over dynastic rule by the Raos, the BRS holds sway over 20 to 25 ‘safe’ seats, especially in the southern region and western border districts of Northern Telangana.

Despite grappling with anti-incumbency sentiments, a resurgent Congress, and a fading Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that is sticky in a few pockets of Hyderabad, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), is determined to clinch a historic third consecutive electoral triumph.

In the run-up to the crucial Assembly polls in Telangana, the ruling BRS (earlier known as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi), spearheaded by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, is bracing for a formidable electoral contest. The party’s optimism stems from the robust leadership of KCR, who was successful in implementing government initiatives with enhanced infrastructure, and pro-investment policies.

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Despite facing criticism over dynastic rule by the Raos, the BRS holds sway over 20 to 25 ‘safe’ seats, especially in the southern region and western border districts of Northern Telangana. A tough triangular contest, however, is anticipated in approximately 30 of the 119 constituencies up for grabs, mostly in the Hyderabad capital region.

The key issues bolstering the BRS’s campaign are the claims that the incumbent government has created infrastructure and healthcare milestones. “Under the BRS government, Telangana has witnessed decent progress in both rural and urban infrastructure, as well as healthcare services. We are using these achievements for the party's electoral pitch, to showcase the improvements they brought to citizens’ lives,” said Ratna Raju, a booth-level BRS worker in Achampet SC constituency of Nagarkurnool district, where the BRS candidate Guvvala Balaraju was attacked last week.

A tough battle is on cards in both Achampet and the neighbouring Kalwakurthy constituency, where BRS won by less than 4,000 votes the last time around. Police fear that the role of money and muscle will be high and are trying to take measures to tackle the menace.

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The BRS has diligently worked to fortify its organisational structures at the grassroots level, providing a good foundation for its electioneering machinery. The early announcement of the candidates’ list is seen as a strategic move, affording ample time for contestants to prepare well and foster a united front. How far a buoyant Congress can break into these safe seats will be crucial in determining the success of the grand old party in this assembly election.

As the electoral battle intensifies in the final leg, the BRS remains confident in its ability to secure voter trust again on its track record, while the Congress is banking on anti-incumbency and ‘poll guarantees’, which worked well in neighbouring Karnataka.

Just a few months ago, the BJP appeared to pose a serious challenge to the BRS, and was seen as the primary contender. However, as the state Assembly polls draw near, the BJP's influence appears to have dwindled significantly on the electoral battlefield.

The fervour surrounding the election campaigns of the BRS and the Congress has cast a shadow over the BJP, which seems to be trailing due to a lack of local leadership. Some campaign staff of BJP candidates discreetly agree that the saffron party is visible only when central leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah visit the state. The magic of an aggressive BJP, which won 48 of the 150 seats in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections in December 2020 under firebrand Bandi Sanjay Kumar, is missing today.

Except in the Hyderabad region, the BJP is in contention only in a couple of seats. One is Kalwakurthy, where the BJP’s Talloju Achary, who lost by just 3,447 votes in 2018, is confident of defeating incumbent Gurka Jaipal Yadav, a three-time MLA. “The heat is just picking up. It looks tough between the BJP and BRS candidates. Many feel that the sitting MLA did not do much for the constituency,” said Krishna Kumar, a clerk working in one of the spinning mills near the Jadcherla-Kalwakurthy highway.

Apart from Vikarabad and Rangareddy, the southern districts comprise Narayanpet, Jogulamba Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Mahabubnagar, Nagarkurnool, Nalgonda and Suryapet. All the nine districts were carved out of the former Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda districts. In 2018, BRS won all the 14 seats except Kollapur in the erstwhile Mahabubnagar district and nine of the 12 seats in the old combined Nalgonda district. Harshavardhan Reddy who won Kollapur, later joined the BRS, making it 14 out of 14 in Mahabubnagar for BRS, which is hoping for an encore.

A tough fight is expected in Kalwakurthy, Achampet (SC) and of course in Kodangal, where the Congress big gun Anumula Revanth Reddy is contesting. Reddy is also contesting in Kamareddy to challenge CM K Chandrashekhar Rao, but Kodangal is his stronghold. He won there twice, in 2009 and 2014, on the TDP ticket before becoming a Congress MP from Malkajgiri in 2019.

The BRS might also find it difficult in Suryapet district, where Congress has fielded stalwart Uttam Kumar Reddy and his wife Padmavathi, who lost by just 756 votes in 2018. Suryapet district has four constituencies.

“Both these districts, Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda, are predominantly rural. Though the infrastructure has improved in the past few years, the pace of development is not very encouraging.At least the district headquarters should be developed into major cities,” said Srinivas, a post-graduate student from Swami Vivekananda College, Mahabubnagar. The district is being developed as a tourist centre, with Pillalamarri, a 700-year-old Banyan tree, a major attraction. It has a rich tribal culture with bonalu, lambada and kolattam dance forms. The district is also popular for its diamond mines.

Telangana, India’s youngest state, which was born out of the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, has a voting population of 3.17 crore, and is set to go to the polls on November 30. The results are slated to be declared on December 3.