A Close-Run Thing

TRS has the edge, but the Congress­led Praja Kutami offers a stiff challenge.

- M.S. Shanker

TELANGANA goes to the polls on December 7; the battle lines are drawn. A few surprises are, however, in store for commen­ tators, for differences in social and economic conditions in each constituency make it notori­ously difficult to gauge people’s mood. Predictions based on statisti­ cal models, too, don’t accurately ref­ lect ground realities.

Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) came to power in 2014 on the back of the successful bid for separate statehood. However, even then, they got only 34 per cent vote share and just 63 seats in the 119-member assembly. In contrast, the Congress, which led UPA-II and was a major claimant for the creation of Telangana, got 25 seats with voteshare of 25.5 per cent. The people had also elected Telugu Desam Party candidates in 15 (a share of 12 per cent) seats. The BJP won five seats (3-4 per cent vote share) and All India Majlis-eIttehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) seven seats (2.7 per cent voteshare).

While the TRS has provided reasonably good governance and won accolades for maintaining an excellent growth rate, urban voters are upset with rising unemployment, worsening conditions of roads and other civic issues.