Congress eyes a comeback in seats it lost in 2014 polls

Hyderabad: The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) is taking a hard look at its performance in Hyderabad in the 2014 elections, where it failed to bag a single seat. The party is confident that it can gain the support of AP-origin voters due to its alliance with the Telugu Desam.

Also having its eyes on Hyderabad is the TRS which had won one seat from the capital the last time round. It has since seen legislators defecting to its side, and won the civic body elections with a record margin.

The MIM won seven seats in 2014, followed by the BJP with four and then alliance partner Telugu Desam three.

AP-origin voters have a decent share in many of the constituencies in Hyderabad. The TD leaders have several times claimed that its alliance helped the BJP in winning seats in Hyderabad. This is why the TD is asking for more seats in the capital during its grand alliance seat-sharing talks.

“Having the TD on our side definitely is an advantage and the graph of Congress will improve. We will win a majority of the seats in the city,” said a senior leader from Congress.

The city Congress started a padayatra in the city on Sunday. Party leaders claimed that the development of Hyderabad took place during their tenure.

Mr Shabbir Ali, senior Congress leader, said that Hyderabad saw an all-round development during the Congress regime and alleged that caretaker Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was only limited to making tall claims. All India Congress Committee secretary N.S. Bosu Raju said, “A manifesto sub committee will be announced to look into the issues in the GHMC region. The padayatra will be taken up in all the 15 constituencies in Hyderabad.”