Political parties in Telangana ready for December polls

All political parties in Telangana have welcomed the Election Commission’s decision to hold single-phase poll in the state on December 7.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which has already announced its candidates for 105 out of the total 119 Assembly constituencies, is ahead of other parties, Opposition Congress, Telugu Desam Party and the BJP, in the election campaign. TRS supremo and caretaker chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has already addressed three large election meetings this week.

The grand alliance of the Congress, the TDP, the CPI and newly founded Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) are yet to start distributing tickets but have come together with a common agenda to fight the TRS.

The alliance, in principle, have agreed to allocate those seats where the respective partner has a guaranteed victory. Following the Karnataka model, the Congress has not projected its chief ministerial candidate so far.

The Congress held a massive public meeting in Mahbubnagar district on October 4 and is planning to organise AICC chief Rahul Gandhi’s public meetings in crucial areas.

BJP president Amit Shah, who had inspired the party cadre in his first visit in September, is scheduled to address a public meeting in Karimnagar on October 10.

While the TRS has ruled out any alliance with the BJP as the chemistry between the two do not match, the saffron party, on the other hand, is trying hard to convey to the people that it has no truck with the TRS. KCR had dissolved the Assembly on September 6, almost nine months before the expiry of his government’s tenure. He blamed Opposition parties for his drastic decision as they were creating hurdles in the implementation of his government's development programmes through litigations and corruption allegations.