Telangana: Assembly elections
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
2013, 2018
The results
From: [From the archives, Oct 10, 2023: The Times of India]
See graphic:
The results of the elections to the Legislature Assembly in Telangana in 2013, 2018
2018
The results
Comparisons with the 2013 assembly elections
From: December 12, 2018: The Times of India
See graphic:
The results of the Telangana assembly elections, 2018
Comparisons with the 2013 assembly elections
KCR/ TRS beat Cong’s Prajakutami
U Sudhakarreddy, KCR Tsunami Drowns Cong Prajakutami, December 12, 2018: The Times of India
Telangana’s ‘He-Man’ Adds Muscle With A 3/4th Majority
A pink tsunami drowned a united opposition in Telangana on Tuesday as sitting chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s TRS won the state’s first assembly election, bagging 88 of the 119 seats till results last came in. In 2014, when Telangana had been freshly bifurcated from Andhra Pradesh, TRS had only 63 seats. Turncoats had later taken its number to 90.
TRS crushed the Congress alliance, or prajakutami, garnering 46.9% of all votes polled. The Congress got just 28%. This is higher than what it polled in 2014 but not enough to even dent KCR, who is now planning to play an even bigger role in national politics by stitching together a third front. He has already given a call for a Congress- and BJP-mukt government at the Centre in 2019.
Analysts feel if the Congress alliance with TDP, TJS and CPI in Telangana is the model Rahul Gandhi plans to replicate nationally in 2019, he may have to rethink his strategy. Many observers also believe that Congress faltered by tying up with the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP, a party accused of stalling Telangana’s formation. Instead of spurring the Congress, the alliance revived the “Telangana sentiment” and drove voters towards TRS.
To understand KCR’s popularity, one has only to browse social media. On Monday, KCR’s son, K T Rama Rao, had tweeted, “One PM, one wannabe PM, 11 Union ministers and many more campaigned against TRS. In the end, one man who’s always used to odds being stacked against him, Shri KCR Garu, shall emerge victorious tomorrow.” Another meme going viral shows KCR speeding ahead in a pink car (TRS symbol) while Naidu is way behind riding a onewheel bicycle held up by Congress leaders and others.
After dissolving assembly prematurely on September 6, KCR had called himself “Mogodu” (He-man). At the time it had seemed like a brazen boast, but the strategy worked. His numerous populist schemes also touched many lives, especially in Telangana’s rural belt.
“KCR was the candidate in all constituencies. He was the face of the party. KCR’s hard work brought the party back to power,” said TRS MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha, KCR’s daughter.
Interestingly, KCR had given tickets to as many as 105 candidates who had fought the 2014 elections as well. He did not change sitting MLAs despite intelligence reports pointing out that 30 of them were facing anti-incumbency.
Not surprisingly, KCR won Gajwel by more than 50,000 votes. His nephew, T Harish Rao, won Sidipet by more than 1.2 lakh votes while KTR, too, won Sircilla by a huge margin. The likes of PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah had accused KCR of concentrating power in the family. The strategy appears to have failed badly.
The decimation of the Congress alliance can be gauged from the fact that the four parties won only 21 seats between themselves—19 to the Congress (two less than in 2014) and two to TDP.
Even Congress’s big guns, including chief ministerial candidates A Revanth Reddy, D K Aruna, Jeevan Reddy and K Jana Reddy, could not hold on to their seats.
Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM, which had supported TRS in the election, was the only party of some reckoning to win back the seven seats it had won in 2014. TDP has been wiped out even from Greater Hyderabad where voters with origins in Andhra Pradesh were expected to back it. Even BJP was reduced from five seats to one in the assembly with only hardcore Hindutva leader Raja Singh winning from Goshamahal.
A former MLC and political analyst, Professor K Nageshwar, told TOI, “A positive vote for KCR overwhelmed the limited and sporadic discontent. The hardcore Telangana voter who had got alienated in the past four and a half years returned to the TRS fold due to the Naidu factor. Consolidation of the core Telangana vote helped.”
Political analyst M E V Prasad Reddy told TOI, “KCR could strike a chord in rural areas with his schemes. Long neglected villages were taken care of. Congress was disconnected from the masses due to its ageing leadership. Tying up with Naidu was a big blunder. People of Telangana didn’t like it.”
Muslim vote favoured TRS
Syed Akbar, Swing in Muslim vote favoured TRS, December 12, 2018: The Times of India
An en masse swing of the Muslim vote made all the difference for the ruling TRS if poll-related data is any indication.
The shift in the Muslim vote was also facilitated by the decision of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) to contest in only eight seats, and indirectly campaign for the ruling TRS in the other 111assembly segments.
Moreover, the inimitable style of campaigning by TRS president and CM K Chandrasekhar Rao in Muslim-dominated segments also worked in favour of the party.
Apart from increasing the monthly honorarium paid to imams and muezzins in mosques, KCR endeared himself to the principal minority community by addressing them in Urdu, often explaining the importance of Muslim beliefs, particularly the Imam-e-Zamin (protector band worn on arm).
2023
List of winners
Dec 9, 2023: The Times of India
The Congress ousted Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana after securing 64 out of the 119 seats. BRS has been ruling the state since 2014, when Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh. The trends predicted the national party racing ahead of the incumbent BRS, which had a lead in 39 seats.
The exit polls predicted a Congress sweep and this win may turn into a huge morale booster for the Congress in southern India, months ahead of Lok Sabha elections. The party had ousted the BJP from power in Karnataka earlier this year.
On the November 30 polls, the state saw a voter turnout of 70.60 per cent. The BRS had fielded candidates in all 119 seats. As per the seat sharing agreement, the BJP and actor K Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP) contested in 111 and eight seats respectively, while the Congress had given one seat to its ally Communist Party of India (CPI), and fought from the other 118.
Here’s the list of winners from each constituency of the Telangana:
| Serial Number | Constituency | Won | Party |
| 1. | ADILABAD | Payal Shanker | BJP |
| 2. | BOATH (ST) | Anil Jadhav | BRS |
| 3. | ASWARAOPETA (ST) | Adinarayan Jare | INC |
| 4. | BHADRACHALAM (ST) | Dr. Tellam Venkata Rao | BRS |
| 5. | KOTHAGUDEM | Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao | CPI |
| 6. | PINAPAKA (ST) | Payam Venkateswarlu | INC |
| 7. | YELLANDU (ST) | Koram Kinakaiah | INC |
| 8. | AMBERPET | Kaleru Venkatesh | BRS |
| 9. | BAHADURPURA | Mohammed Mubeen | AIMIM |
| 10. | CHANDRAYANGUTTA | Akbar Uddin Owaisi | AIMIM |
| 11. | CHARMINAR | Mir Zulfeqar Ali | AIMIM |
| 12. | GOSHAMAHAL | T Raja Singh | BJP |
| 13. | JUBILEE HILLS | Maganti Gopinath | BRS |
| 14. | KARWAN | Kausar Mohiuddin | AIMIM |
| 15. | KHAIRATABAD | Danam Nagender | BRS |
| 16. | MALAKPET | Ahmed Bin Abdullah Balala | AIMIM |
| 17. | MUSHEERABAD | Muta Gopal | BRS |
| 18. | NAMPALLY | Mohammed Majid Hussain | AIMIM |
| 19. | SANATHNAGAR | Talasani Srinivas Yadav | BRS |
| 20. | SECUNDERABAD | Padma Rao T | BRS |
| 21. | YAKUTPURA | Jaffar Hussain | AIMIM |
| 22. | DHARMAPURI (SC) | Adluri Laxman Kumar | INC |
| 23. | JAGTIAL | Dr. Sanjay | BRS |
| 24. | KORATLA | Kalvakuntla Sanjay | BRS |
| 25. | GHANPUR (STATION) (SC) | Kadiyam Srihari | BRS |
| 26. | JANGOAN | Palla Rajeshwar Reddy | BRS |
| 27. | PALAKURTHI | Yashaswini Mamidala | INC |
| 28. | BHUPALPALLE | Gandra Satyanarayana Rao | INC |
| 29. | MULUG (ST) | Danasuri Anasuya Seethakka | INC |
| 30. | ALAMPUR (SC) | Vijayudu | BRS |
| 31. | GADWAL | Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy | BRS |
| 32. | JUKKAL (SC) | Laxmi Kantha Rao Thota | INC |
| 33. | KAMAREDDY | Katipally Venkata Ramana Reddy | BJP |
| 34. | YELLAREDDY | Madan Mohan Rao K | INC |
| 35. | CHOPPADANDI (SC) | Medipally Sathyam | INC |
| 36. | HUZURABAD | Kaushik Reddy Padi | BRS |
| 37. | KARIMNAGAR | Gangula Kamalakar | BRS |
| 38. | MANAKONDUR (SC) | Dr. Kavvampally Satyanarayana | INC |
| 39. | KHAMMAM | Tummala Nageswara Rao | INC |
| 40. | MADHIRA (SC) | Bhatti Vikramarka Malla | INC |
| 41. | PALAIR | Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy | INC |
| 42. | SATHUPALLE (SC) | Matta Ragamayee | INC |
| 43. | WYRA (ST) | Ramdas Maloth | INC |
| 44. | ASIFABAD (ST) | Kova Laxmi | BRS |
| 45. | SIRPUR | Dr Palvai Harish Babu | BJP |
| 46. | DORNAKAL (ST) | Jatoth Ram Chander Naik | INC |
| 47. | MAHABUBABAD | Dr Murali Naik Bhukya | INC |
| 48. | DEVARKADRA | Gavinolla Madhusudan Reddy | INC |
| 49. | JADCHERLA | Anirudh Reddy Janampalli | INC |
| 50. | MAHBUBNAGAR | Yennam Srinivas Reddy | INC |
| 51. | MAKTHAL | Vakiti Srihari | INC |
| 52. | NARAYANPET | Chittem Parnika Reddy | INC |
| 53. | BELLAMPALLE (SC) | Gaddam Vinod | INC |
| 54. | CHENNUR (SC) | Gaddam Vivekanand | INC |
| 55. | MANCHERIAL | Kokkirala Premsagar Rao | INC |
| 56. | MEDAK | Mynampally Rohith | INC |
| 57. | NARSAPUR | Vakiti Sunitha Laxma Reddy | BRS |
| 58. | KUKATPALLE | Madhavaram Krishna Rao | BRS |
| 59. | MALKAJGIRI | Marri Rajashekhar Reddy | BRS |
| 60. | MEDCHAL | Chamakura Malla Reddy | BRS |
| 61. | QUTHBULLAPUR | K.P. Vivekanand | BRS |
| 62. | UPPAL | Bandari Laxma Reddy | BRS |
| 63. | ACHAMPET (SC) | Chikkudu Vamshi Krishna | INC |
| 64. | KOLLAPUR | Jupally Krishna Rao | INC |
| 65. | NAGARKURNOOL | Dr Kuchkulla Rajesh Reddy | INC |
| 66. | DEVARAKONDA (ST) | Balu Naik Nenavath | INC |
| 67. | MIRYALAGUDA | Bathula Laxma Reddy | INC |
| 68. | MUNUGODE | Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy | INC |
| 69. | NAGARJUNA SAGAR | Kunduru Jayaveer | INC |
| 70. | NAKREKAL (SC) | Vemula Veeresham | INC |
| 71. | NALGONDA | Komati Reddy Venkat Reddy | INC |
| 72. | KHANAPUR (ST) | Vedma Bhojju | INC |
| 73. | MUDHOLE | Ram Rao Pawar | BJP |
| 74. | NIRMAL | Alletti Maheshwar Reddy | BJP |
| 75. | ARMUR | Paidi Rakesh Reddy | BJP |
| 76. | BALKONDA | Prasanth Reddy Vemula | BRS |
| 77. | BANSWADA | Srinivas Reddy Parige (Pocharam) | BRS |
| 78. | BODHAN | P Sudarshan Reddy | INC |
| 79. | NIZAMABAD (RURAL) | Bhoopathi Reddy Rekulapally | INC |
| 80. | NIZAMABAD (URBAN) | Dhanpal Suryanarayana | BJP |
| 81. | MANTHANI | Duddilla Sridhar Babu | INC |
| 82. | PEDDAPALLE | Chinthakunta Vijaya Ramana Rao | INC |
| 83. | RAMAGUNDAM | Makkan Singh Raj Thakur | INC |
| 84. | SIRCILLA | Kalvantula Taraka Rama Rao (K.T.R) | BRS |
| 85. | VEMULAWADA | Aadi Srinivas | INC |
| 86. | CHEVELLA (SC) | Kale Yadaiah | BRS |
| 87. | IBRAHIMPATNAM | Malreddy Ranga Reddy | INC |
| 88. | KALWAKURTHY | Narayan Reddy Kasireddy | INC |
| 89. | LAL BAHADUR NAGAR | Devireddy Sudhir Reddy | BRS |
| 90. | MAHESWARAM | Patlolla Sabitha Indra Reddy | BRS |
| 91. | RAJENDRANAGAR | T Prakash Goud | BRS |
| 92. | SERILINGAMPALLY | Arekapudi Gandhi | BRS |
| 93. | SHADNAGAR | K Shankaraiah | INC |
| 94. | ANDOLE (SC) | C. Damodar Rajanarsimha | INC |
| 95. | NARAYANKHED | Patlolla Sanjeeva Reddy | INC |
| 96. | PATANCHERU | Gudem Mahipal Reddy | BRS |
| 97 | SANGAREDDY | Chinta Prabhakar | BRS |
| 98. | ZAHIRABAD (SC) | Koninty Manik Rao | BRS |
| 99. | DUBBAK | Kotta Prabhakar Reddy | BRS |
| 100. | GAJWEL | Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao | BRS |
| 101. | HUSNABAD | Ponnam Prabhakar | INC |
| 102. | SIDDIPET | Thanneeru Harish Rao | BRS |
| 103. | HUZURNAGAR | Uttam Kumar Reddy Nalamada | INC |
| 104. | KODAD | Nalamada Padmavathi Reddy | INC |
| 105. | SURYAPET | Guntakandla Jayesh Reddy | BRS |
| 106. | THUNGATHURTHI (SC) | Mandula Samel | INC |
| 107. | KODANGAL | Nalamada Padmavathi Reddy | INC |
| 108. | PARGI | Tammannagari Ram Mohan Reddy | INC |
| 109. | TANDUR | B Manohar Reddy | INC |
| 110. | VICARABAD (SC) | Gaddam Prasad Kumar | INC |
| 111. | WANAPARTHY | Megha Reddy Tudi | INC |
| 112. | NARSAMPET | Donthi Madhava Reddy | INC |
| 113. | PARKAL | Revuri Prakash Reddy | INC |
| 114. | WARADHANAPET (SC) | K R Nagaraj K | INC |
| 115. | WARANGAL EAST | Konda Surekha | INC |
| 116. | WARANGAL WEST | Naini Rajender Reddy | INC |
| 117. | ALAIR | Ilaiah Beerla | INC |
| 118. | BHONGIR | Kumbam Anil Kumar Reddy | INC |
| 119. | NARAYANKHED | Patlolla Sanjeeva Reddy | INC |
Replication of Karnataka model
From: [From the archives, December 5, 2023: The Times of India]
Reddy, Steady, Yo! It’s T Party For Cong
Replicates Karnataka Model With 6G Strategy To Craft Win
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
A resurgent and resilient Congress led by 54-yearold Anumula Revanth Reddy swept to power in Telangana. Congress won 64 seats, just four above the magic number of 60 for a majority in the 119-member legislative assembly, riding high on its ‘Maarpu kavali Congress raavali’ (Change needed, Congress must come to power) slogan. BRS, which was confident of scoring a hat-trick of wins with its welfare and development plank, was confined to 39 seats. A look at how it went from welfare to farewell…
Karnataka formula: With election strategist Sunil Kanugolu's planning, the Congress replicated its successful Karnataka campaign model in Telangana. This included announcing the six guarantees well in advance and conducting elaborate surveys in each constituency before giving out tickets. The party also managed to put a lid on infighting among different power centres to project a united face during campaigning.
Fatigue and broken promises: The Congress capitalised on voter fatigue for the BRS which was in power for the past nine years after Telangana was carved out of united Andhra Pradesh. It tapped into a growing perception that chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was inaccessible and had not delivered on some of his promises, like 2BHK houses for the poor. The Dalit Bandhu scheme that gave Rs 10 lakh each to Dalit families to start a business was also mired in controversies. Opposition attacks on power in the BRS being concentrated in the hands of KCR and his family also helped Congress.
CWC meeting in Hyderabad: The Congress leadership gave party cadre a boost by holding the Congress Working Committee meeting in Hyderabad on September 16 and 17.
PostIndependence, this was the first time that the CWC was held in Hyderabad. The second day coincided with the anniversary of merger of erstwhile Nizam-ruled Hyderabad State into the Indian Union in 1948. Also, the top leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul, Priyanka, Mallikarjun Kharge, and chief ministers of Congressruled states campaigned hard just before polling day. Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Yatra also helped in building up the momentum.
Asking for one chance: Like YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh in 2019, the Congress urged the people of Telangana to give it one chance to prove itself as they had already given two terms to KCR. This successfully tapped into the existing antiincumbency against BRS.
KCR’s ticket error:Political analysts say the KCR’s biggest strategic mistake was giving tickets to almost all sit ting BRS MLAs despite resentment against them in many constituencies. He even announced the candidates three months before polls in August. “KCR thought people vote for the BRS seeing the performance of the government in the past 10 years, not the candidates. But corruption allegations against some MLAs and other issues went against the party,” analyst M Nagesh Kumar said.
Youth veer away:Unemployed youth appear to have either supported the BJP or the Congress on many seats. They were unhappy with the government for not filling up vacancies in various departments and also the Telangana State Public Service Commission paper leak cases. BRS working president KT Rama Rao tried to control the damage , but by then it was too late. Muslims looked to Cong: The Congress managed to convince Muslims that they are a better bet than the BRS in challenging BJP at the national level.
Corruption allegations: BRS failed to successfully counter corruption allegations, especially against KCR’s daughter and BRS MLC K Kavitha who has been embroiled in the Delhi excise policy scam, and in irrigation projects like the Medigadda barrage which is part of the prestigious Kaleshwaram project. The opposition accused the BRS of becoming richer with kickbacks from various development projects.
Two sides of the same coin: The Congress created the perception that the BJP and BRS were helping each other. This was strengthened after Kavitha was not arrested by the Enforcement Directorate.
