A voter's finger being marked with electoral ink at a polling booth.
Credit: PTI Photo
As Telangana nears its polling date on November 30, all eyes are on the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), led by K Chandrashekar Rao, to see if the party will retain power in the state. The other parties in the fray include the Indian National Congress (INC), All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Following the 2018 assembly elections, BRS formed the government after winning 88 seats and K Chandrashekar Rao became the chief minister for another term.
As the high-voltage campaigns are progressing in the poll-bound state, here is a look at the key constituencies where strong electoral battles are expected.
Gajwel
This constituency in the Medak district of the state holds much significance in the upcoming polls as it is considered the stronghold of KCR. He contested from this seat in 2018 polls and won with a total of 1,25,444 votes. In 2014 too, he had emerged victorious from the same seat by marking an 86,694-vote win. For the 2023 election, a total of 114 candidates had filed nominations from this seat of which 70 withdrew their nominations. BJP has fielded MLA and former minister Eatala Rajender from this seat. He has also been fielded from Huzurabad seat.
Kamareddy
KCR is also contesting from this constituency. There are 39 candidates in the fray but the key candidate to watch out for is Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President A Revanth Reddy, who is also contesting from his home constituency Kodangal, where only 13 candidates are in the fray.
Sircilla
From this seat, KCR’s son K T Rama Rao, popularly known as KTR, a key member of the Cabinet and working president of BRS, will be seeking re-election. He had won from this seat for 1,25,213 votes in the 2018 assembly polls.
Siddipet
BRS leader and Minister of Medical - Health and Finance Harish Rao is contesting once again from Siddipet. He has been representing the seat since 2004.
The polls to elect members to the 119-seat Legislative Assembly will be held on November 30. The poll results will be announced on December 3.