Andhra Pradesh - Karimnagar   

‘Telangana sentiment’ on test again bottomline

KARIMNAGAR: Once again the ‘Telangana sentiment’ will take centrestage in the elections in this politically volatile district.

The people of Karimnagar district have upheld the ‘Telangana sentiment’ during the last two byelections by electing TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao and three sitting legislators, Etala Rajender, V. Lakshmikantha Rao and Koppula Eshwar. This time, however, KCR has moved out of this district after performing a hat-trick from Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency.

The TRS could secure Huzurabad, Manakondur, Korutla, Ramagundam, Manthani, Dharmapuri, Sircilla and Peddapalli Assembly segments and Karimnagar and Peddapalli Lok Sabha constituencies as part of the seat-sharing with the Grand Alliance.

Also, it has fielded its MLA, V. Lakshmikantha Rao, against CPI leader Chada Venkat Reddy from Husnabad Assembly segment in spite of the electoral tie-up with the Left party.

The TDP, which was a strong force in the district and swept the 1994 elections by winning 10 Assembly seats, is now forced to contest from only four Assembly segments of Karimnagar, Jagtial, Choppadandi and Vemulawada.

The Congress, which is contesting all the seats, is in an upbeat mood after the TRS president moved out of the district and the TDP confined itself to four seats. It is cashing in on the development works such as execution of several pending irrigation projects and welfare schemes.

The PR is contesting from all the constituencies, but there is little impact of Chiranjeevi’s glamour and even that is confined to urban areas.

Interestingly, BJP leader Ch Vidyasagar Rao is contesting from Vemulawada against TDP nominee, Ch Ramesh, his nephew and son of veteran MLA Ch. Rajeshwara Rao.

Senior Congress leader G. Venkatswamy who has opted to retire from the poll scene has fielded his son and industrialist, G. Vivekanand, from Peddapalli Lok Sabha seat. For the first time, the Congress is playing the BC card by fielding Ponnam Prabhakar from the Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat. It is also experimenting by fielding new candidates in the seven Assembly segments of this constituency.

Endowments Minister J. Ratnakara Rao is facing rebel threat from Korutla Assembly segment with Korutla Municipal Chairman M.A. Gafoor remaining in the fray. The TRS has fielded KCR’s son, K. T. Rama Rao, from Sircilla where he is facing a threat from party rebel K. K. Mahender Reddy.

Minister for Roads & Buildings T. Jeevan Reddy is contesting from Jagtial and Government Whip D. Sridhar Babu from Manthani.

The stage is fully set for multi-cornered contests in all the 13 Assembly and two Lok Sabha – Karimnagar and Peddapalli – constituencies.

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