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politics

pockets of influence. Rest of the seats and AIADMK-BJP-led factions while Telangana
could go to united democratic front and other key players in the fray in- Telangana recorded 61 per cent vot-
congress. The victory of congress presi- clude Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Nee- ing across 17 Lok Sabha constituencies
dent Rahul Gandhi is mere a formality dhi Maiam (MNM) and TTV Dhina- of the state. Congress leader Renuka
as people are busy calculating his vic- karan’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Chowdary (Khammam), AIMIM presi-
tory margin, those political observers Kazhagam (AMMK). dent Asaduddin Owaisi (Hyderabad),
put in between three to four lacs. This The Election Commission decided state Congress president N Uttam
constituency has dominance of minori- to rescind polls in the Vellore constitu- Kumar Reddy (Nalgonda), sitting TRS
ties’ population. ency after a huge amount of nearly MP K Kavitha (Nizamabad), daughter
11 crores of cash was seized from the of TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao,
Andhra Pradesh warehouse and residence of a DMK are among the prominent candidates
An impressive turnout of voters over 73 candidate Kathir Anand. Political ana- who are in fray.
per cent had been recorded in Andhra lysts predict DMK- Congress alliance Medak recorded highest number of
Pradesh for 25 Lok Sabha and 175 state in an advantageous leading position voter turnout with 68.60 per cent while
Assembly constituencies, where the as compare to AIADMK-BJP combine. Secunderabad from where senior BJP
Telugu Desham Party (TDP) is facing Congress leaders are harvesting much leader Kishan Reddy pulled consider-
two-fold challenge of anti-incumben- hopes and leads from this state. ably less electorate to exercise their
cy and resurgent YSR Congress Party franchise. Acute agrarian crisis and
(YSRCP). Maoist infested areas expressed luke-
The two parties are contesting all During his campaign warm response to participate in polling
Assembly and Lok Sabha seats on their as it is considered as largest democratic
own. The TDP, had severed ties with BJP among masses and celebrations of the country.
last year with an acrimonious note, may address to eminent
find it difficult to repeat its 2014 perfor- Chhattisgarh
mance. Even then, the TDP leaders are persons and workers, Overconfident Congress party will find
optimistic of a division of anti-incum- Modi exhibits his it tough to counter the BJP’s narrative
bency votes among actor Pawan Kaly- in Chhattisgarh to project ‘Brand Modi
an’s Jana Sena-led alliance, Congress unique ability to and Nationalism.’ Revitalised BJP’s
and BJP. connect himself strategy has been devised by RSS (Rash-
The YSRCP, formed by Jagan Mohan triya Swayam Sevak Sangh) to over-
Reddy in 2011 after quitting Congress, with the ancient come anti-incumbency feelings from
had dismantled the relevance of na- culture and religious the masses by replacing all the old faces
tional party as a key political force in with new ones in the 11 parliamentary
the previous election. The Congress symbolism of Kashi constituencies of the state.
vote base has gone miserably low from The strong presence of RSS and
36.55 per cent per cent in 2009 to 11.62 its affiliates is there at grassroots. The
per cent in 2014. Because of this slump, Karnataka Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad
the congress party performed poorly in In Karnataka battle lines clearly demar- (ABVP), Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh,
both the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. cated for a bipolar contest between the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, Vanavasi Kaly-
It was also result of the public anger ruling Congress-JD(S) and the BJP on all an Ashram, Seva Bharati, etc are core
over bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh the 28 constituencies. The BJP that has strength for the new BJP candidates —
that led to creation of Telangana. Now considerable presence in the northern most of whom are little-known public
after the 2019 polls are over people of region of the state where party lead- faces. Yet, all 11 candidates have an RSS
Andhra Pradesh anticipate a possi- ers extensively campaigned on the background.
ble of post poll alliance of YSRCP with strength of “Brand Modi” with the sup- Initially, the contest in Chhattis-
BJP in the formation of next govern- port of dominant Lingayat community, garh between the BJP and Congress
ment at Centre. considered as its nurtured base. appeared one-sided after major de-
It is a high stake battle for ruling bacle in Assembly elections held last
Tamil Nadu Congress-JD(S) alliance as their perfor- year, but now it has become tougher for
In Tamil Nadu, 38 out of 39 Lok Sab- mance in this poll is likely to have its congress to maintain its momentum. It
ha seats and the bye elections for 18 bearing on the coalition government has been a trend in Chhattisgarh that
Assembly constituencies have gone headed by H D Kumaraswamy in the the party in power in the state wins
to poll with excellent turnout of State. Here both the alliance are having more seats in the parliamentary elec-
71.86 per cent. Here is a battle of al- neck to neck fight and congress hopes tion. In 2014, BJP won 10 out of 11 seats
liances between the DMK-Congress major breakthrough from the state. and one went to the Congress. Now

Tehelka / 15 may 2019 21 www.Tehelka.com