Telangana Assembly Polls 2018: It won't be a cakewalk for TRS as Prajakutami gains steam

Mahboobnagar: Telangana Caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao during a Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) public meeting, in Mahboobnagar, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2018. (PTI Photo) (PTI11_21_2018_000196B)

Telangana, India's youngest state, is going to polls on December 7. The upcoming assembly elections will be the first ever, after the state was carved out of Andhra Pradesh on June 2, 2014.

Previous elections were held in then undivided Andhra Pradesh in April-May 2014, in which the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) emerged as the largest party by winning 63 out of 119 seats.

The Congress was limited to 21 seats and the Telugu Desam party (TDP) with its then alliance partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), won 20 seats (15 TDP and five BJP), while the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) secured seven and others eight.

TRS is trying to retain power in the state whereas the Congress is trying to regain its lost bastion. The BJP is also in the ballot battle to make its presence felt. But who will win the polls?

As per political analysts, TRS commands a lead, but the opposition alliance under Prajakutami banner is fast closing that gap.

“TRS still have an edge, but the main Opposition – the Congress-led alliance – is catching up fast,” political analyst K Nageshwar said in talks with Moneycontrol.

He shared several conditions that might go against the ‘pink’ party in this battle of ballot:

Discontentment

KCR and his party, TRS, were confident of the 'there is no alternative' or the TINA factor, and were widely believed to be able to retain Telangana when they dissolved the assembly in September.

However, a lot has changed on the ground in the last three months. The surprise emergence of an alliance between Congress, TDP, TJS and CPI under 'Prajakutami' banner  was able to tap the simmering discontent against the TRS government, among youth and tenant farmers. If it makes an impact on the voting behavior of the people of Telangana, winning the election would not be a cakewalk for the TRS.

Welfare schemes

TRS is conducting a massive poll campaign across the state. Its leaders and candidates are promoting welfare schemes introduced by the state government. However, these schemes might also be a drawback for the party.

According to Nageshwar, beneficiaries of the schemes may perhaps be inclined towards TRS but non-beneficiaries are very critical of the government.

Even the beneficiaries can turn up against the government given the fact that these schemes increase expectations, which beats the satisfaction level of beneficiaries. In such cases, if other parties announce better schemes, even the existing beneficiaries can be wooed and may vote in favour of any party other than the TRS, he said.

Anti-incumbency

Many TRS MLAs are drawing flak in their respective constituencies for not being accessible and performing below expectation. Asked the reason behind it, Nageshwar said the MLAs are weak as power has been concentrated in the hands of KCR and his family members. According to him, KCR could not build a robust organization in the state.

“He (KCR) believed that the sentiments made him win in 2014 and he thinks that his own popularity will make him win this time. So, the candidates are weak. If the party wins the polls, it will be KCR’s personal charisma, but how long will it remain?” he quips.

Even KCR's son and state minister KT Rama Rao agreed that there was anti-incumbency sentiment against some leaders of the party. He, however, believed that it will not affect the party's prospects in assembly polls as it will be "eclipsed" by the image of his father.

"People realise that this is the election where KCR (as the chief minister is popularly known as) gets elected as chief minister. For that to happen, they have to vote for MLAs. Whatever anti-incumbency or dissatisfaction that could be against incumbent MLAs, that will be eclipsed by KCR," Rao told PTI.

Assembly Elections 2018: Read the latest news, views and analysis here