While from a bird’s eye view, Telangana elections may appear to be a direct contest between the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Congress, the BJP’s prospects of making an impact in at least 20 to 25 constituencies cannot be ruled out, which would arguably put itself in a kingmaker position if it performs well along with its ally, Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena, which is contesting eight seats.
BJP sees great avenues in North Telangana especially in districts like Nirmal, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Adilabad, and Kamareddy where it is banking on the pitch of polarisation combined with Modi government’s welfare schemes to make inroads, and dent the prospects of other parties. Of the total four Lok Sabha seats, the party won three of them from north Telangana — Bandi Sanjay from Karimnagar, Dharmapuri Arvind from Nizamabad and Soyam Bapu Rao from Adilabad.
Barring state president G Kishan Reddy, all the three MPs are running as MLAs in the 2023 assembly elections. Bandi Sanjay Kumar, the party’s firebrand Hindutva leader, is up against BRS strongman Gangula Kamalakar, and the BJP seems to be in direct contest with the BRS in Karimnagar. Likewise, in Koratla, the party is betting high on Dharmapuri Arvind, who defeated Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter, K Kavitha, in Nizamabad in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Huzurabad is another constituency where the party is assured of sweeping the polls owing to seven-time MLA Eatala Rajender who has won this seat five times in row including two by-polls. Eatala is also taking on BRS supremo KCR in the latter’s constituency Gajwel, in what is being dubbed as a direct grudge match between the two.
These leaders are also the prominent OBC faces of the party, a community that the BJP is heavily banking on with a promise of making a Backward Class leader as the Chief Minister of Telangana, if voted to power.
As far as triangular contests are concerned, the party is confident of springing a surprise in Kamareddy where Chief Minister Rao is standing for the first time.
BJP candidate Venkataramana Reddy is said to have a lot of goodwill among the locals as he was instrumental in leading farmers’ protest against the ruling BRS government’s now shelved Kamareddy masterplan that had proposed to acquire farm lands for the development of industrial corridor in the region. The other key candidate in the fray is Telangana Congress president Revanth Reddy, who has also been dubbed as an “outsider” like KCR by critics.
Apart from Northern Telangana, the BJP is heavily focused on Hyderabad as the party had secured 48 seats in the 2020 Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls while the Congress lost ground and the BRS with 51 corporators had to take MIM’s support. While one may argue that municipal polls are different from state elections, the BJP is re-plugging the same strategy that it had used in GHMC involving high octane show of strength the top brass. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to undertake a mega roadshow in Hyderabad on November 27.
Of the total 24 assembly constituencies in Hyderabad, the BJP is hoping for a three-cornered fight in at least 13 constituencies including Khairtabad, Musheerabad and Serilingampalli. The AIMIM is expected to sweep seven of the nine seats that it is contesting as the old city continues to remain the bastion of the Owaisi brothers. The only seat that the BJP is sure shot of winning is Goshamahal, represented by Raja Singh, the lone MLA that won in 2018.
While BRS working president KT Rama Rao says BJP has lost its deposits in 110 constituencies, Congress Telangana president Revanth Reddy, in an interview to News18, dubbed them “spoilsport”, for the Congress believes the BJP could make a dent in at least 4-5 constituencies, majorly acting as a vote-cutter, thereby, helping the BRS to sail through anti-incumbency votes.
Several leaders in the BJP, who have been reading into surveys, point out that the strategy is to galvanise on the seats that they are confident of winning, or dislodge the Congress to land itself in the second position. While there has never been a hung mandate in the history of united Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the possibility of one cannot be ruled out as both BRS and Congress are fighting neck and neck, and is something that is being discussed in political circles as well.
Asaduddin Owaisi, who has campaigned for the BRS in Zaheerabad, Vikarabad and Sangareddy, cautioned voters about BJP’s game plan.
“BJP’s real objective is to force a hung assembly in Telangana, and benefit out of a coalition government in the upcoming parliamentary polls. I appeal to the people to give a decisive mandate, make us win in the 9 seats that we are contesting, and help BRS win 110 seats so that KCR becomes the CM once again,” Owaisi said.