In Telangana’s former Communist strongholds, Congress looks for a Left boost

Though the CPI(M) has made no official announcement about who it will support in the remaining 115 constituencies, party insiders say it is likely to back the Congress. In former Communist bastions including Nalgonda — the region comprises the constituencies of Nalgonda, Nakrekal, Bhongir, Alair, and Miryalaguda — the Left was split between the Congress and the BRS in 2014 while last time around it shifted completely to the party led by K Chandrashekar Rao, popularly known as KCR.

The BRS (then the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, or TRS) won six of the 12 Assembly constituencies in undivided Nalgonda district in 2014 while the Congress won five and the CPI bagged one. In 2018, the BRS swept the region, winning nine of the 12 seats while the Congress won three. The ruling party wrested the two seats of Huzurnagar and Munugode in subsequent bypolls, taking its tally to 11.

One of the reasons for the shift in Left votes to the BRS is the welfare schemes of the KCR government. This time, Congress leaders hope their alliance with the CPI will transfer their votes to them. Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who is seeking re-election for the fourth time from Madhira in Khammam, said the Left’s support would “immensely help” the Congress in several constituencies, especially in the undivided districts of Khammam and Nalgonda.

But not getting the CPI(M) on board may prove to be a stumbling block. Though the Left party has weakened over the past decade, it may still dent the winning chances and margins of BRS and Congress candidates in seats such as Bhadrachalam and Aswaraopet (ST-reserved) in Bhadradri Kothagudem district, and Madhira (SC-reserved), Wyra (ST), Khammam, Sathupalli (SC), and Nakrekal (SC) in Khammam district.

Left’s diminishing returns

For the Left, the fight is a lot about maintaining its political relevance in a state where it was once a major political player. In 2018, the CPI(M) contested 26 seats but failed to win a single one. The party ended third in three seats and had a total vote share of 0.4%, down from 1.6% in 2014 when it won Bhadrachalam.

The CPI contested seven constituencies in 2014 and won Devarakonda in Nalgonda district. Its MLA Ravindra Kumar Ramavath later defected to the BRS and won as its candidate in 2018. In that election, the Left party was in the fray in three seats and in an alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Congress as part of the “Mahakutami (grand alliance)”. But it drew a blank.

In the high-profile Munugode bypoll contest last year, the Left parties backed BRS candidate Koosukuntla Prabhakar Reddy. It is believed to have helped the BRS defeat Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy, whose defection to the BJP necessitated the bypoll. According to the CPI and the CPI(M), there are at least 20,000 Left voters in Munugode and this gave the BRS an edge over the BJP.

Following this, the Left parties were expecting an alliance with the ruling party in the Assembly elections too. But they were in for a shock on August 21 when KCR announced a list of 115 candidates without holding consultations with them. The Telangana CM also ruled out any last-minute seat allotment to the CPI and CPI (M) and said the BRS would put up candidates in the remaining four seats too.