Telangana Assembly elections 2018: Tough for TRS to hit 100-plus seats

Hyderabad: It will not be easy for the  Telangana Rashtra Samiti to win 100-plus seats in the upcoming Assembly elections as predicted by caretaker Chief Minister and TRS Chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

The TRS had thought it could reach the mark easily but now it has to contend with the Mahakutami, the alliance of Opposition parties, including in Gajwel from where Mr Rao is contesting.

In the 2014 elections, the TRS won 63 seats out of 119 in the state. It swept Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Warangal districts and won a majority of seats in Nalgonda, Medak and Adilabad districts.

In Nizamabad district, all nine seats went to the TRS, the party won 12 out of 13 seats in Karimnagar district, in Warangal, eight out of 12 seats and in Medak, eight out of 10 seats. Of the 29 seats in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts, the TRS won only five.

To cross the 100-seat mark, the TRS has to retain all the seats it won four years ago and improve its performance in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts, which will be an uphill task.

In 2014, all sections supported the statehood agitation and there was a “wave” in favour of the TRS, particularly because of Mr Chandrasekhar Rao. Still, the TRS won only 63 seats.

After four-and-a-half years of TRS rule, many sections of voters have distanced themselves from the party and several candidates are facing rough weather in their constituencies. In addition, there is the Mahakutami headed by the main Congress. Against this backdrop, it will be very difficult for the TRS to even retain the 63 seats it won, say political pundits. The party secured more legislators through defections.

The TRS, though, says that in 2014 it had no cadre in the districts and no specific vote bank. But in the last four-and-a-half years it has established a strong cadre and with the implementation of several popular schemes, it now has a vote bank, all of which will work to its benefit. The TRS government has spent about '2 lakh crore on several welfare schemes and the beneficiaries of these schemes will vote in favour of the TRS, said a senior party leader. After winning the municipal elections in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts, to win more seats may be difficult for the TRS.

Out of 29 seats in the Old City, seven are won by the Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen, which is friendly to the TRS. In the remaining 22 seats, the TRS has to fight the Mahakutami, and here the AP-origin voters will decide the fate of candidates.

District wise seats won by TRS in 2014

District    Seats    TRS
Nizamabad    9    9
Karimnagar    13    12
Medak    10    8
Warangal    12    8
Adilabad    10    7
Nalgonda    12    6
Mahbubnagar    14    7
Ranga Reddy    14    4
Hyderabad    15    1
Khammam    10    1