Telangana Congress chief A Revanth Reddy (L) and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao.
Credit: PTI File Photos
Telangana, the newest state of our country, was officially formed on June 2, 2014 after Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated following intensive agitations for separate statehood. Its legislative assembly has 119 members and 1 nominated member from the Anglo-Indian community.
Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi, formerly known as Telangana Rashtra Samithi, sweeped the first elections held in congruence with Andhra Pradesh on April 20, 2014. It won 63 segments, while the Indian National Congress won 21 and Telugu Desam Party 15. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) was 4th largest party with seven seats, while BJP was reduced to five seats.
Nine months before the completion of term, BRS patriarch and then CM K Chandrashekar Rao resigned, paving the way for early elections in 2018. This election witnessed the alliance of TDP, INC, and CPI. Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi this time registered even bigger win, claiming power over 88 seats, whie Congress, TDP and CPI won 19, 2 and 0 respectively. AIMIM alone won 7 out of the 8 assembly segments it fought on. K Chandrashekar Rao, the man who spearheaded sustained agitation for Telangana Statehood once again became the CM. BJP were 4 down this election, gaining victory in only one seat.
BRS alone boasted of a massive 46.87 per cent vote share. Khammam district remained worst performing for BRS where it could only win 1 out of 10 segments, while INC won 6. Hyderabad didn't fare too well for BRS as well as AIMIM won 7 seats in the city.
This year, KCR is hopeful for his third consecutive win, as Congress emerges stronger than before. Congress and BJP have stepped up attack on BRS too, with Kharge calling KCR 'PM ka baap' while BJP's Javadekar recalled Dharani Portal and Kaleshwaram as landmark corruption scams of Telangana.
It remains to be seen how this elections fare for the dominant parties in the state. The state undergoes polling on November 30 and counting of votes are scheduled for December 3.