TRS set to form government in Telangana with huge majority

Naveen Garewal 
Tribune News Service 
Hyderabad, December 11

The TRS looked set to form its second successive government in Telangana with a thumping majority after taking an unassailable lead winning 81 seats—two-thirds majority—according to the latest vote count in the Telangana assembly elections Tuesday—a clear vindication of party chief K Chandrasekhar Rao's popularity.

Soon after the vote count began at 8 am, it became clear that Rao's Telangana Rashtra Samithi party will sweep back to power.

Rao had dissolved the Assembly in September, eight months ahead of schedule, in a political gamble that paid off handsomely, as the party is expected to improve on its previous strength of 63 in the 119-seat Assembly.

However, TRS strength rose to 90 after defections from TDP and the Congress before the elections.

"The people reposed faith in the leadership of our chief minister and they did not believe in the disinformation campaign of the opposition," said T Harish Rao, a minister in the outgoing government and a nephew of Rao.

The first two confirmed results have gone in favour of the TRS with its candidates M Sanjay Kumar and Sunke Ravishankar winning the Jagtial and Choppadandi seats.

Despite allegations of perpetuating "family rule", KCR, as the caretaker chief minister is popularly known, his son K T Rama Rao and nephew T Harish Rao have established comfortable leads over their rivals in Gajwel, Sircilla and Siddipet constituencies, respectively.

Celebrations erupted in TRS offices throughout the state as well as in the Telangana Bhavan, the party headquarters in Hyderabad. TRS activists dancing to drum-beats, burst firecrackers and distributed sweets.

According to results and trends available as of 5 pm, the Congress won 15 seats and was leading in four while ally TDP bagged two seats.

Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, which supported TRS, won six and was ahead in 1 constituency while the BJP clinched one seat. Others won two seats and led in one.

TRS president and caretaker chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who led his party to the impressive performance in the polls, won his Gajwel seat by a margin of 57,321 votes.

Rao polled 1,23,996 votes, while his nearest Congress rival Vanteru Pratap Reddy got 66,675 votes.

His son and minister KT Rama Rao emerged triumphant from Sircilla segment, defeating nearest Congress rival KK Mahender Reddy by a margin of 88,000 votes.

Chandrasekhar Rao's nephew and cabinet colleague T Harish Rao romped home with a huge margin of 1,18,499 votes in Siddpet constituency, trouncing nearest Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) rival Bhavani Reddy, who secured 12,596 votes.

“Grateful, indebted & Humbled. Thanks Telangana for keeping the faith in KCR Garu & giving us another opportunity to serve you,” Rama Rao tweeted.

 Several leaders, including chief ministers of West Bengal, Bihar and Karnataka—Mamata Banerjee, Nitish Kumar and HD Kumaraswamy respectively—and Leader of Opposition in Andhra Pradesh Assembly and YSRCP President Jaganmohan Reddy greeted KCR, as the TRS chief is popularly known.

Other prominent candidates among those who won are ministers E Rajender and T Srinivas Yadav and AIMIM's Akbaruddin Owaisi, brother of party chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

Ministers Tummala Nageswar Rao, Jupally Krishna Rao and P Mahender Reddy and Telangana Congress working president Revanth Reddy, senior Congress leader Jana Reddy and Telangana BJP president K Laxman were among those trailing. 

Senior TDP leader Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy said the factors leading to the drubbing needed to be analysed.

“We were expecting to get more seats. The results are not to our expectations. we have to analyse and introspect where it went wrong, and we have to work together,” Reddy told PTI, adding peoples verdict needed to be respected.

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisis AIMIM, which K Chandrasekhar Rao calls a "friendly party", is leading in five places and others in two.

The Congress said it suspected "manipulation" of the Electronic Voting Machines, and demanded that all votes be counted using the VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) to ascertain the exact number of votes polled by each candidate.

“Going by the distorted trends, there is a strong suspicion that EVM machines have been manipulated. We demand that 100 percent counting of VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) must be taken up in all constituencies.

"All Congress candidates should submit letters to their returning officers demanding counting of VVPAT paper trails," a communication from the Congress quoted state party president N Uttam Kumar Reddy as saying.

With defeat staring the opposition alliance in the face, CPI general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy alleged: "Huge distribution of money, particulary on the last day (before the election)...purchasing the votes..this must have resulted in this victory for TRS."      

Claiming that the elections were not free and fair, Reddy said it was not a moral but only "technical" victory for the TRS.

The Congress had forged an pre-poll opposition alliance with the TDP, Telangana Jana Samiti and the CPI. With PTI inputs