Welfare schemes, a stable nine-year government, and maintaining law and order in Telangana are giving the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) confidence against a resurgent Congress, and the BJP in the November 30 Assembly polls. First off the blocks, the BRS hit the ground on August 21 with the announcement of 115 candidates by party supremo and chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), leaving little room for last-minute rebellions or resentments even as the Congress and BJP struggled to finalise their candidates. KCR also announced an extensive state-wide campaign schedule starting October 15. The CM has addressed meetings in 97 of the 119 Assembly constituencies while his son and nephew – ministers K T Rama Rao and T Harish Rao – have addressed over a 100. Their rallies and roadshows revolved around three aspects – welfare schemes of the government, growth and development that the state witnessed since its formation in 2014 under the BRS, and how the Congress and the BJP are detrimental to the interests of Telangana. Meanwhile, BRS MLA and KCR’s daughter K Kavitha has held fort in her home turf of Nizamabad since the start of November. Congress’s campaign trail The Congress, on the other hand, released its 118 candidate names over three lists. The party has allied with the CPI, which will contest the Kothagudem seat, though talks with the CPI(M) failed. Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy heli-hopped around 90 constituencies to address roadshows and rallies. The grand old party also brought in its top brass, including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, and other senior leaders. It also pressed in its entire Karnataka unit, which had recently tasted success in the neighbouring state, into the campaign. The party’s campaign focused on ushering in change with its slogan, “Marpu kavali, Congress ravali (We want change, Congress must come)", and left no stone unturned to disseminate its “six guarantees” among the voters. The Congress’s guarantees promise to provide more welfare benefits than what the BRS government is already giving. Towards the end, a flashpoint emerged between the Congress and the BRS as Revanth Reddy promised “Indiramma Rajyam” in Telangana, drawing sharp reactions from the BRS and BJP. KCR slammed Reddy saying the former prime minister’s tenure was a dark era, which saw starvation deaths, rise of the Naxal movement, and extra-judicial killings. BJP leaders recalled the Emergency days under Indira. This was met with counters from the Congress, which said houses, land sites, and welfare benefits were given out under “Indiramma Rajyam”. Riding on its victory in neighbouring Karnataka, the Congress claimed that it was on its way to dethrone the BRS. Its confidence stems from reports of anti-incumbency in some constituencies, prompting slogans like “VRS to BRS” from the Gandhis. Unlike 2014 and 2018, the party this time is confident that the Muslims votes would be divided, mainly in its favour. BJP loses steam The BJP shot into the limelight in Telangana after winning 48 seats in the 2020 Hyderabad civic polls, following which it wrested Dubbak and Huzurabad from the BRS in Assembly bypolls. However, the momentum that it had gained seems to have fizzled out after the drubbing in Karnataka. The party’s decision to replace firebrand leader Bandi Sanjay with soft-spoken Kishan Reddy as the state chief further dampened the spirits of leaders and cadre, which led to an overall slowdown in its campaign and waning of support base. The BJP, much like the Congress, brought out its bigwigs for the campaign with Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing eight public meetings across Telangana and holding a roadshow in Hyderabad. Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed 22 public meetings across the state. The top brass of the BJP, including CMs Yogi Adityanath and Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Union ministers like Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani canvassed for the party’s candidates across the state. However, the lack of a Telugu-speaking face, except for Kishan Reddy and Rajya Sabha MP K Laxman, may end up hurting the party. Firebrand Sanjay was confined to Karimnagar, where a tough fight against BRS minister Gangula Kamalakar, awaits him. The party made corruption of the BRS government the fulcrum of its campaign. Leaders alleged corruption in various projects and schemes like Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya, Miyapur land deal, ORR scam, etc. The BJP attacked both the BRS and Congress over their “dynastic politics”. Two days before the campaign ended, anger simmered in the BRS camp as the Election Commission (EC) directed the state government to halt disbursal of Rythu Bandhu assistance till the Model Code of Conduct was in place. The BRS and Congress traded charges over the controversy with the ruling party accusing the Congress of being “anti-farmer” while the Congress blamed the BRS for leaving farmers in the lurch. Key leaders and battles Even as a tough contest is expected between the BRS and the Congress across the state, there are individual seats which are hogging the limelight too. KCR is involved in two high-pitched battles – against Etala Rajender of the BJP in his home turf of Gajwel and against Revanth Reddy in Kamareddy. Some of other keenly-watched contests include M Krishna Rao of the BRS going against M Prem Kumar of the Jana Sena Party in Kukatpally; Congress’s Mynampally Hanumath Rao’s, who recently switched from the BRS to the Congress, against BJP’s N Ramachander and BRS’s M Rajashekhar Reddy in Malkajgiri; and the Congress’s Mohammed Azharuddin, who is pitted against sitting corporator Rashed Farazuddin of the AIMIM and sitting MLA Maganti Gopinath of the BRS in Jubilee Hills. Rajender will lock horns against the BRS’s Padi Kaushik Reddy of the BRS while Revanth Reddy, in his home turf of Kodangal, will take on BRS minister Patnam Narender Reddy. Khammam strongman Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, who had a bitter fallout with the BRS and joined the Congress, will take on the ruling party’s K Upender Reddy and CPI (M) stalwart Tammineni Veerabhadram in Palair. Former Hyderabad Mayor M Majid Hussain of the AIMIM will take on Congress’s Feroz Khan in Nampally.
