The election to the Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat has become a high-profile affair with the sudden entry of K. Kavitha, daughter of TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao, into the fray. Sitting MP Madhu Yaskhi Goud, who was aiming at scoring a hat-trick, is now keeping his fingers crossed.
The contest has become all the more intriguing with the entry of sitting MLA Yendala Lakshminarayana, who would be testing his luck in the Lok Sabha for the first time as a candidate of BJP-TDP combine.
Though Mr. Goud emerged a strong votary of Telangana, he had to fight anti-incumbency as he was elected twice since 2004.
Apart from making a strong pitch for statehood to Telangana, he was often found taking credit for completion of the Jagityal-Nizamabad railway line. But Ms. Kavitha is likely to counter Mr. Goud on his contribution to the constituency that remained underdeveloped.
Ms. Kavitha, who is set to play the daughter-in-law card (her husband belongs to the district), will cash in on the goodwill she has earned as KCR’s daughter and her services to the constituency as Telangana Jagruthi president.
Sources say that she will try to expose Mr. Goud on several counts and pin him down to score over him.
While the contestants are ready to fight polls on Telangana plank, local issues like Gulf migrants, Pranahitha-Chevella project, beedi workers’ problems and absence of remunerative price to turmeric farmers also hold a key to their winning chances. Mr. Lakshminarayana has an advantage over his rivals as his community – Munnurukapu – has a sizeable presence in all the seven segments falling under the Lok Sabha seat. He also believes that Modi factor and incumbency against the Congress candidate will certainly work for his advantage.
“Though there are more than half-a-dozen candidates in the fray, the main fight will be among Mr. Goud, Ms. Kavitha and Mr. Lakshminarayana, a senior political analyst says.
There is a considerable chunk of minority votes in 14,47,458 electorates. Analysts say that there could be a deep divide in minority votes which may go to both the Congress and the TRS. In the last 15 elections, the Congress had won 11 times, TDP thrice and an independent candidate, M. Narayana Reddy, emerged victorious once.
