The fate of bigwigs of major political parties will be sealed in the make or mar elections in the Telangana region on Wednesday.
Elections to the 119 Assembly and 17 Lok Sabha constituencies will be held from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. After the no-holds-barred and high-pitched campaign that saw Congress, TRS, TDP-BJP combine hurling abuses at one another, it’s time for voters to decide the fate of the candidates.
Tension is clearly palpable among Congress leaders who are obviously worried over reaping the benefits of creation of Telangana. The TRS camp is visibly elated at the huge response to its leader’s electrifying campaign, corroborated by even Congress and TDP-BJP leaders.
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This election will be an acid test for Congress seniors like former Deputy Chief Minister C. Damodar Rajanarasimha, TPCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah, working president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, former Ministers – K. Jana Reddy, J. Geetha Reddy, D. Sridhar Babu, D.K. Aruna, V. Sunitha Laxma Reddy -- former PCC chief D. Srinivas, TPCC vice-president Md. Ali Shabbir and several sitting MLAs. Congress leaders, wishing anonymity, said it is not going to be an easy task to take on TRS candidates. Faulty selection of candidates in some constituencies has made sure that voters made up their mind to vote for the party that had really struggled to make Telangana a reality and this has made the Congress leaders jittery. The lacklustre campaign by State leaders put paid to the hopes of the Congress. The fate of Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao, who entered the fray from Medak parliamentary as well as Gajwel Assembly constituencies would be decided along with senior TRS leaders like T. Harish Rao, K. T. Rama Rao, Etela Rajender and Kavitha.
Parties are eagerly waiting to see if the TDP-BJP combine would put up a good show in Telangana after the whirlwind tour of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Key contestants from other parties include Jayaprakash Narayan (Lok Satta), Asaduddin Owaisi (MIM), actor Vijayashanti, Union Ministers – S. Jaipal Reddy, Sarvey Satyanarayana and P. Balram Naik (all Congress) and K. Narayana (CPI). It is said that minorities who hold sway in at least 25 constituencies and those from Seemandhra in 50 segments could tilt the balance. Turnout of voters, particularly first-timers and those in urban areas, is also crucial for the outcome.