HYDERABAD: Despite supporting simultaneous polls proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Telangana state Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is considering to advance Assembly polls and is seeking MLAs’ opinion on the same. Sources in the TRS said that after analysing advantages and disadvantages, the CM is contemplating on advancing Assembly polls. A majority of MLAs left the decision on this issue to Mr Rao. According to the TRS sources, there may be chances for cross voting and domination of national issues in simultaneous polls. He wants Assembly elections to be held on state issues.
He is collecting party MLAs’ opinions in this regard. In the simultaneous polls held in 2014, TRS won 67 Assembly seats out of 119 and 11 Lok Sabha seats out of 17. But this time, the TRS has been expressing doubts on cross voting if simultaneous polls will be held. the TRS leaders said that the present situation is different from the situation in 2014. In 2014, the UPA government was at Centre and did not expect that the BJP will come to power in those elections. Now, the BJP led NDA government is at Centre and expecting to retain its power in ensuing Lok Sabha elections.
TRS leaders said that in Telangana, apart from Old city, there are 30 to 35 Assembly constituencies where Muslim voters are large in number. In simultaneous polls, fight between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and AICC president Rahul Gandhi will dominate and State issues will get lesser importance. Generally, Muslim voters may prefer to vote for the Congress than BJP at Centre. In this situation, in some constituencies, Muslims may vote for the Congress in Lok Sabha and Assembly also and it will affect the results of the TRS.
“If only Assembly elections will be held naturally, CM KCR will get importance and people will compare him with other party leaders and prefer to vote for TRS,” a senior leader of the party said. If Assembly elections are held separately, before Lok Sabha elections, the TRS will retain its power and it will become an advantage to TRS in the Lok Sabha elections.
Keeping this all in view, CM KCR is considering to advance Assembly polls. Meanwhile, KCR recently dropped enough indications on advancing the Assembly polls. In a party meeting, KCR said that the TRS is ready, even Ministers and the TRS MLAs are ready and people are ready to give TRS a thumping win in case of polls being advanced.
