The Bharat Rashtra Samithi is locked in a high-stakes electoral battle with the Congress in Telangana, practically 10 years after it first got here to energy within the newly-created state.
As of 10.45 am, the Congress is main in 52 of the 119 seats, adopted by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in 29 constituencies and the Bharatiya Janata Get together in six seats, in accordance with Election Fee information. The Communist Get together of India is main in a single seat.
The 2023 Meeting elections in Telangana had been held on November 30. The state registered a turnout of 71.34%. The counting of votes started at 8 am on Sunday.
In 2018, Chief Minister Ok Chandrashekar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi gained 88 seats and the Congress-led alliance 21 seats. The Telangana Meeting has a complete of 119 seats and 60 seats are required for a majority. A number of Congress MLAs subsequently defected to what was then often known as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi. This time, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi is dealing with a stiff problem from the Congress, which was a dominant political pressure within the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh.
For the Congress, Telangana serves an opportunity to return to energy in one other southern state after it wrest management of Karnataka from the BJP in Might. Understandably, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, regardless of being an Opposition social gathering on the Centre, views the Congress as its primary rival within the state. Due to this fact, the Rao-led social gathering has refused to affix the INDIA Opposition bloc, which incorporates the Congress.
- The BJP has traditionally had little success in Telangana. Nonetheless, buoyed by the electoral traction it has discovered within the state lately, the BJP has additionally pulled out all stops in its marketing campaign. Within the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP bagged 4 of the state’s 17 parliamentary seats. A yr later, the BJP pipped the Congress and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen to change into the second largest social gathering within the Hyderabad municipal elections. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, which has appreciable affect in components of Hyderabad, is contesting 9 seats within the area. Whereas the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen just isn’t in an alliance with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, social gathering chief Asaduddin Owaisi had in October urged Muslims to vote for Rao’s social gathering the place his personal social gathering was not contesting.
- The election outcomes of the Meeting polls in Telangana come barely 4 months earlier than polling within the Lok Sabha elections start. The end result of the state polls is prone to feed into the bigger political image forward of the overall election.
Key elements
- After two consecutive phrases in energy, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi is preventing to chase away anti-incumbency. Due to this fact, the Rao authorities is banking on its money switch initiatives to retain energy. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi authorities’s Rythu Bandhu money switch scheme has been seen as so successful that it has been replicated by a number of different states and even the BJP authorities on the Centre. Below the Rythu Bandhu scheme, the Telangana authorities arms out Rs 10,000 per acre yearly to farmers over two crop seasons. Forward of the polls, Rao introduced that the quantity will probably be raised to Rs 16,000 in a phased method. Month-to-month social safety pensions for aged residents, single girls and differently-abled individuals may even be elevated step by step, Rao promised. This pressured the Congress to not solely match the Rao authorities’s sop for sop, it additionally promised to pay the elevated pension quantity instantly if it involves energy. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi had introduced that it’s going to ship the elevated pension quantity in a phased method.
Additionally learn: Floor report: Can Telangana’s large money switch regime defend KCR from anti-incumbency?
Why events of all colors are providing money switch schemes to voters
- One other issue within the election is cash-for-votes. Scroll reported on November 30 about how massive scale money distribution in change for votes is an open secret in Telangana. A number of political leaders, analysts and voters advised Scroll that the going price on this election was Rs 10,000 per vote. Nonetheless, the determine was as much as Rs 15,000 in constituencies having an in depth contest.
Additionally learn: How cash-for-votes might swing the Telangana elections
Key contests
- A key battle is enjoying out between the chief minister and Anumula Revanth Reddy, the president of Congress’ Telangana unit, within the Kamareddy Meeting constituency. Rao can also be contesting from the Gajwel Meeting constituency the place he’s dealing with a problem from Congress’ Tumkunta Narsa Reddy and the BJP’s Etela Rajender. Rajender, who stop the Bharat Rashtra Samithi to affix the BJP in 2021, was as soon as thought of an in depth aide of Rao. Revanth Reddy, at the moment a Lok Sabha MP from Malkajgiri, can also be contesting from a second constituency Kodangal – a seat he had misplaced in 2018.
- Rao’s son and minister KT Rama Rao is contesting from Sircilla, a seat he has held since 2009. He’s being challenged by Congress’ KK Mahender Reddy. The chief minister’s nephew and minister T Harish Rao is preventing from Siddipet, a seat he has held since for practically 20 years. The seats existed at the same time as a part of the undivided Andhra Pradesh.
- Amongst different events, the BJP’s former state unit chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar is taking over the Bharat Rashtra Samithi chief Gangula Kamalakar in Karimnagar. The BJP fielded chief T Raja Singh from the Goshamahal constituency after revoking his suspension in October. Singh was suspended in August 2022 over his remarks about Prophet Muhammad. The BJP had acted in opposition to him after large-scale protests erupted in Hyderabad as he repeated former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s disparaging remarks in regards to the Prophet. Even when he was suspended from the social gathering, Singh had engaged in hate speech in opposition to Muslims a number of instances. Akbaruddin Owaisi, the chief of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, is contesting from Hyderabad’s Chandrayangutta constituency. The seat, from the place he has been an MLA for practically 25 years, is among the many social gathering’s strongholds.
Additionally learn: In Hindutva’s absence, class is deciding the Muslim vote in Telangana
Exit polls
- Most exit polls have projected the Congress to wrest management of Telangana, defeating the Bharat Rashtra Samithi. Many of those surveys recommend that the Congress could get a transparent majority.
- In accordance with India TV’s CNX ballot, the Congress is predicted to win between 63 and 79 seats within the state. It predicted that whereas the Bharat Rashtra Samithi will get 31 to 47 seats, the BJP would win simply between 7 and 13 constituencies. Republic’s Matrize polls projected the Congress to win round 58 to 68 seats, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi between 46 and 56. The BJP will win 4 to 9, it predicted. The exit ballot by News24-At present’s Chanakya predicted the Congress to win 71 seats, forward of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s 33. The India At present-Axis My India exit ballot equally mentioned that the Congress will clinch 63 to 73 seats. Rao’s social gathering will win 34 to 44 seats, it added.