All Parties Face Litmus Test in Lok Sabha Polls

Hyderabad: The Congress and the BJP are facing a litmus test in Monday’s Lok Sabha elections, each aiming to win double-digit seats, while the BRS is fighting a separate battle to remain relevant.

For the Congress, which came to power in the state five months ago with a simple majority, winning most of the 17 Lok Sabha seats is crucial to offer stable governance and also Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to cement his position both in the party and the government.

The opposition has argued that the Congress government with just 64 MLAs (plus one of alliance partner CPI) — just four over the halfway mark — would collapse if the party did not do well in the Lok Sabha polls

Revanth Reddy is aiming for a victory in more than 12 Lok Sabha seats to marginalise the BJP and the BRS. Congress circles said if the party achieved this, there would be an exodus of BRS MLAs into its ranks which would boost its number in the Assembly.

The BRS won 39 Assembly seats but this has come down to 35 after three MLAs joined the Congress (Danam Nagender, Kadiam Srihari, and Tellam Venkat Rao) and the death of BRS Secunderabad Cantonment MLA Lasya Nanditha.

The BJP too is aiming to win double-digit seats despite the party winning eight seats in the Assembly polls.

Although the BRS claims it will win 10 to 12 Lok Sabha seats, the talk in party circles is that it would be good even if it retained the vote share of the recent Assembly polls so that it can keep its flock together and confidence among the leaders and cadre that it is still relevant.

Data however shows that the Congress and the BJP ate into the BRS vote even when it was in power. With the BRS facing an exodus, the two parties are hoping to take off more votes.

Vote shift

The BRS has lost votes from the state polls to the general elections

2023             BRS    Cong.   BJP

Assembly     37.35   39.4    13.9

2018/19

Assembly     46.87   28.43  6.93

Lok Sabha   41.29   29.48  19.4