Andhra Pradesh - Warangal   

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WARANGAL: The failure of last minute efforts to ensure coordination among the alliance partners may prove costly to them despite claims of a strong separate Telangana sentiment in a district considered to be the stronghold of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS).

The Congress succeeded in sorting out dissidence and in wooing rebels within a short time and now leaders exhibit the unusual camaraderie which may work in their favour in wresting more seats than the party expected earlier.

Among the alliance partners, the TDP fielded veterans in three Assembly constituencies – E. Dayakar Rao (Palakurthy), Kadiam Srihari (Station Ghanpur-SC) and R. Prakash Reddy (Narasampet) who might find the going easy but the TRS has fielded new candidates in most constituencies, including the Parliamentary seats, while nominating two seniors – K. Pratap Reddy (Jangaon) and G. Vijayarama Rao (Wardhannapet) where a keen battle is ahead. The other partners – CPI could get only Mahabubabad Lok Sabha constituency from where it fielded a young tribal Kunja Srinivasa Rao of Khammam district while CPI (M) could get, after much difficulty, Warangal East Assembly seat. The CPI (M) fielded six candidates but later withdrew them. It decided to go ahead with its candidate in Station Ghanpur where it nominated Ratnamala against the decision to leave it to TDP in favour of Kadiam Srihari.

The disunity among the alliance partners is striking with CPI and CPI (M) discontented over the treatment they got in the seat sharing exercise. The TRS fielded altogether new faces who are little known among the people. Except for those of the TDP, the candidates fielded by other Grand Alliance partners do not match the Congress candidates in popularity. One has to see if the final voter behaviour is in line with the popular talk that the magic of ‘Telangana sentiment’ is on the wane.

Two candidates of TRS Moluguri Bikshapathi who will be taking on senior Congress leader Konda Surekha and K. Pratap Reddy who will contest against Major Irrigation Minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah are likely to give a tough fight as the both constituencies are party strongholds. Both TRS candidates are popular with the people in their respective constituencies.

Apart from team work and coordination, the Congress candidates might get the advantage of the headstart they got in campaigning due to early announcement of candidates.

The Grand Alliance parties lost precious time fighting it out over sharing of seats even after the last day of withdrawal of nominations.

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