Election fever is catching up this year in Telangana. The upcoming Legislative Council elections will set the tone for the local body polls and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections that will follow later this year. To start with, polling will be held on February 27 for two seats of Member of Legislative Council (MLC) from the Teachers constituency and one seat from the Graduates constituency.
In the fray are two national parties, BJP and the Congress, and the candidates being backed by them as the main opposition party, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has decided to not enter the ring this time around. Though there were some party aspirants who were gearing up to fight the election, the party supremo and former CM K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) has decided against it. According to party sources, it was felt by the leadership that any electoral loss at this point will directly affect the upcoming local body polls and the grassroots of the party. As per BRS calculations, the result can go either way in a three-way contest as BJP and the Congress are expected to put their best foot forward.
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Noted political analyst, K. Nageshwar who is also a former MLC felt that BRS withdrawing from Teachers constituency is not very surprising because the focus is on teachers unions. However, he had a different take on BRS not fielding a candidate for the Graduates constituency.
“In case the BJP or the Congress end up in first or second position and BRS is in third position, there is a high chance of seeing the narrative that BRS has weakened. And local body polls are coming up. The BRS which was in second position in Assembly elections slipped to third position in parliament elections. Their voting percentage also had come down. However, they could successfully create a perception that they are the main opposition party to the ruling Congress. They highlighted people’s issues and remained visible. They do not want to lose this advantage.”
He pointed out that despite ups and downs, political parties like BJP and communists fight elections as it would also rejuvenate the cadre.
The elections would be held for one teacher and one graduate seats in the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar constituency and 1 teacher seat in the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda constituency.
Meanwhile, the BJP is upbeat about its chances and was the first party to announce all the three candidates. The party’s MPs are from Nizamabad, Adilabad and Karimanagar parliament segments and the party also won MLA seats in this belt. With a strong presence and growing influence, the saffron party wants to make a mark in the Council elections. The Congress, as a ruling party with a traditional support base spread across rural areas, wants to assert its supremacy with the wins.
