Polling on in Telangana, Political Fate of BRS & KCR at Stake

Hyderabad: Polling continues for the 119-member Telangana Legislative Assembly on Thursday. Voting started at 7 am and will end at 6 pm in the evening.

It is likely a closely fought election in Telangana. The ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party, led by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR), is facing a stiff challenge from the Revanth Reddy-led Congress, which is hoping to register its first election victory in the state it created.

The BJP is also trying hard to make its presence felt in this south Indian state.

The TRS (now BRS) came to power in Telangana in 2014 and since then it held the government in the state. The Congress is hoping to encash the growing discontent with the BRS government. To woo the voters, the Congress has announced a lot of guarantees ranging from Rs 15,000 annual aid to farmers and legislation for the welfare of gig workers, auto-rickshaw drivers and sanitation workers.

The BJP has tried to use the caste factor by declaring that it will have a Chief Minister from the OBC community if voted to power.

A BRS victory will consolidate KCR’s position as a powerful regional leader as he will be the first South Indian leader to win three consecutive terms.

A Congress victory will signal a resurgence of the party in South India. For the BJP it will be a major major electoral success in the south as the party has never come to power in any southern state except for Karnataka, which it lost to the Congress early this year.