Telangana Assembly Elections 2018 will be different and difficult from 2014 for the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) — the party faces new challenges ahead of the December 7 polls.
The party, formed with a single-point agenda of formation of a separate Telangana state, had won the last elections, held jointly with Andhra Pradesh. It had won 63 out of 119 constituencies of the Telangana region and formed the government under Chief Minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (KCR).
In four years, the ruling party introduced several policies, out of which implementation of the Rythu Bandhu scheme has been the most significant. The scheme provides Rs 8,000 per acre per farmer as investment support for Rabi and Kharif crops.
Another important scheme launched for the agricultural sector is Mission Kakatiya — to remove silt irrigation tanks with a view to increasing their storage capacity.
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Apart from investing in the agriculture sector, the government also introduced several social schemes in its tenure, including providing free housing, assistance to brides under Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubaarak. It has also distributed KCR kits for the welfare of mother and child, which includes financial assistance for pregnant women.
With elections around the corner, KCR has asked his party workers to highlight welfare schemes implemented by his government.
He has further asked the TRS manifesto committee to draft the document after meeting people from different walks of life and taking their suggestions into account.
He has already announced some key promises from the poll manifesto, including farm loan waiver of up to Rs 1 lakh, increasing the amount of annual financial assistance given to farmers under the Rythu Bandhu scheme, hike in Aasara pensions, allowance for unemployment individuals and so on.
Also read: Here are some key facts on Telangana, its history of formation
The report card for this government's performance will be out on December 11 (counting day).
With the voting date (December 7) only a month away, here is a look at the challenges faced by the TRS government:
Education
A major challenge in front of the ruling party is slow growth of literacy in Telangana. It ranks 25 among the states with 66.46 percent literacy rate, as per the 2011 census. The literacy rate in the state is even lower than some of the lower-income states like Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
The Opposition has been targeting the government on this issue.
The Congress, in its poll campaigns, often criticised TRS for not implementing education-related policies, such as clearing fee reimbursement dues. The party has promised to pay fee reimbursement amounts every year in two instalments, if voted to power.
Congress has also promised to rejuvenate the entire education system within 100 days of coming to power in Telangana.
SCs and STs
A high percentage of the population of Telangana comes from the marginalised sections of society. Out of the population of 3.5 crore, nearly 86 lakh people fall under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
As SC/STs have traditionally been a Congress vote bank, the party needs a strong policy to attract this section of population.
Also read: Vote for irrigation water, don’t accept liquor, says TRS
New political parties
The challenge to win the polls has become tougher for TRS with the entrance of new political parties as well.
Earlier in 2018, Telangana Political Joint Action Committee decided to form a new political party with the name ‘Telangana Jana Samithi’.
In September, another party was floated by former TV anchor Rani Rudrama, named ‘Yuva Telangana Party’.
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Congress-led Prajakutami (Grand Alliance)
The Congress, eyeing the south Indian state, has formed an electoral alliance with N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS). The grand alliance has been seen as another primary contender for the polls in the state.
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