The Telangana Congress has a new hope of securing at least two seats after most of the surveys predicted that the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) would win 13-14 seats of the total 17 seats in Telangana.
Though the Telangana Congress fought the Parliament elections against all odds like suffering a huge defeat in the Assembly elections, shortage of funds and defection of MLAs, it still thinks it can upset the ruling party in at least two seats.
The Congress gained some confidence when the TRS fielded non-politicians and businessmen, mostly those who were fighting their first election. In Chevella, it fielded Ranjit Reddy against sitting MP Konda Vishweshwer Reddy, who had good contacts with the locals.
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Similarly in Nalgonda, TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy himself decided to contest and faced a realtor, Vemireddy Narsimha Reddy, who was also a first-timer.
In Malkajgiri constituency, TPCC working president A. Revanth Reddy contested against Marri Rajashekar Reddy, who tested political waters for the first time.
In all these three seats, Congress is confident of winning given the candidates’ familiarity with the masses, while the TRS contestants had to literally introduce themselves to the voters.
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Two other constituencies where Congress has pinned hopes are Bhongir and Khammam where former Union Minister Renuka Chowdary took on TRS leader Nama Nageshwar Rao, who joined the TRS in the last minute after losing the Assembly elections as a TDP candidate against a TRS nominee.
Bhongir seat
The Congress party is confident of bagging the Bhongir seat as well where former Minister Komatireddy Venkata Reddy was fielded against the sitting MP from TRS, Boora Narsaiah Goud. The confidence stems from the fact the Venkata Reddy’s brother R. Rajgopal Reddy is a sitting MLA from Munugode, which is part of Bhongir, and he vigorously campaigned for his brother.
“There was silent voting in favour of these candidates given their personal stature as against the newcomers from the TRS. Moreover, minorities decided to vote silently to Congress this time,” claimed a senior leader. “The feedback from the cadre and the general mood noticed on the polling day is in our favour.”
In fact, Mr. Uttam Reddy claimed that they might do well in Peddapalli and Mahabubabad constituencies, which are reserved for SCs and STs respectively.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Telangana R.C. Khuntia also claimed that the TRS cadre was discontent with the non-politicians thrust on them and they voted in favour of Congress candidates.