The Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) are gearing up for a three-way Lok Sabha battle in Telangana.
The Lok Sabha seats in the state are important for all parties in the fray. For the Congress – which came to power in Telangana in the 2023 Assembly elections – it is a matter of strengthening their hold over the region, and for the BJP, it is a means to increase its southern footprint.
But for the BRS, the Lok Sabha election may be a matter of survival.
Buoyed by its massive win in the 2018 Assembly elections, the party, in 2019, had come out with the slogan 'Sir, Car, 16' – referring to BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, the party election symbol, and the 16 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats it was aiming to win. The party had won nine seats, its informal ally AIMIM one, the BJP four, and the Congress three.
Five years and a major loss later, the party is marred by defections. It has, so far, released the names of nine candidates amid the uncertainty created by nearly half of its sitting MPs – who have defected (or are at risk of defecting) to the BJP and the Congress – in a span of four weeks.
How Defections Have Played Out
Late on Wednesday, 13 March, KCR released the names of four candidates – Gali Anil Kumar from Zahirabad, Bajireddy Goverdhan from Nizamabad, Kasani Gnaneshwar from Chevella, and Dr Kadiyam Kavya from Warangal.
The party had previously announced its candidates in five seats – Nama Nageshwar Rao from Khammam, Maloth Kavitha from Mahabubabad, Boinpally Vinod Kumar from Karimnagar, Koppula Eshwar from Peddapalli, and Manne Srinivas Reddy from Mahabubnagar.
The BRS had also cleared the name of its sitting MP BB Patil from Zahirabad earlier, but he joined the BJP shortly after.
"In Zahirabad, the Congress has fielded former MP Suresh Shetkar, who hails from the Lingayat community, and the BJP has fielded BB Patil, who is also a Lingayat. The community has a considerable presence in the constituency, which borders Karnataka. BRS' candidate G Anil Kumar hails from the Munnuru Kapu caste, which also has some presence in the Lok Sabha seat," observed political analyst R Pridhvi Raj.
Zahirabad Lok Sabha constituency is made up of seven Assembly segments, out of which four are ruled by the Congress (Jukkal, Yellareddy, Narayankhed, Andole), two by the BRS (Banswada, Zahirabad), and one by the BJP (Kamareddy).
"Despite the BJP's growing presence in the region after K Venkata Ramana Reddy defeated both KCR and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy in Kamareddy, the Congress has better chances in the constituency," Pridhvi Raj opined.
In Chevella Lok Sabha constituency, too, confusion prevailed as sitting MP G Ranjit Reddy allegedly refused to accept the party's nomination, forcing the BRS to field Gnaneshwar. Ranjit Reddy is expected to join the Congress soon. If he quits the party, he will be the fourth sitting BRS MLA to jump ship.
Apart from BB Patil, Nagarkurnool MP P Ramulu and Peddapalli MP Venkatesh Netakanti also left the party. While Ramulu joined the BJP, Netakanti left to join the Congress.
The BJP has announced Gomasa Srinivas as its Peddapalli candidate and gave the Nagarkurnool ticket to Ramulu's son Bharat Prasad. The Congress has not announced its candidates in Nagarkurnool and Peddapalli yet.
While the BRS has fielded former minister Koppular Eshwar from Peddapalli, RS Praveen Kumar, the chief of the BRS' poll ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), is keen on contesting from Nagarkurnool.
Previsouly speaking to The Quint, former MLC Prof K Nageshwar had explained that "the BJP's long-term strategy has always been to occupy the political space vacated by regional parties in a particular state."
"The BRS is in a vulnerable position and the BJP's intention is to further weaken the party. The BJP's target is not the Congress in Telangana, it is the BRS. They know that if the BRS weakens, then they can occupy the anti-Congress political space. This has been their strategy in several states, including West Bengal, with the CPI(M)."
Losing the Perception Game?
In a dramatic turn of events on Tuesday, 12 March, BRS workers were accused of trying to "kidnap" former BRS MLA Aroori Ramesh, after he met Telangana BJP chief G Kishan Reddy on the same day, reports stated.
As rumours of him joining the BJP spread, "former minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao arrived to convince Aroori Ramesh and began taking him to Hyderabad," IANS reported. Reportedly, BJP workers "intercepted the car on the way and forcibly removed Aroori Ramesh."
"With its MLAs and MPs being poached in public view, the BRS is clearly losing the perception battle. It creates a domino effect – as leaders leave one after the other, it gives the impression that the BRS is losing. When this narrative sets in, it is very difficult to reverse the trend," Pridhvi Raj opines.
He further says that while KCR – who suffered a fall in December 2023 – has been able to boost the morale of the cadre through his presence in public meetings, "some may perceive him as being weak."
"KCR is seen in public meetings with a cane. While in some ways it can help him garner the sympathy of voters, in other ways, he can be perceived as being invalid and not fit to lead."R Pridhvi Raj
If perceptions are to go by, the BRS may also be facing some trouble in the Hyderabad region – which has been its stronghold – especially with the Congress appearing to move closer to the AIMIM in Old City. Congress chief Revanth Reddy and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi were recently seen heaping praise on one another during an event in Old City recently.
The AIMIM and BRS, for the last two terms, have had "friendly relations" in Telangana even if they have fought polls against one another. This relationship has helped the BRS garner minority votes in areas where the AIMIM does not contest.
"The Congress is trying to win the support of the AIMIM because it has seven MLAs in the Assembly. Not only would it help the party in the Hyderabad region, it would also make sure that if the BRS or the BJP attempts to destabilise Revanth Reddy’s government, he would have some support."R Pridhvi Raj
It is unclear if the BRS and AIMIM would offer support to one another ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. KCR has not fielded a candidate yet in Hyderabad constituency, where Asadiddin Owaisi would be contesting from, and neither has the Congress. The BJP has fielded businesswoman and a Hindutva face Madhavi Latha.
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