Verdict of Telangana people

Few days before Telangana went to polling; there appeared a lack of exuberance and the dilemmas among people in the region on whom they should elect to fulfil their aspirations in the new state. It was very evident that the only issue in the elections would be the Telangana sentiment. At that time it is thought that the main reason for confusion among voters in Telangana include the lack of clarity on who should get the credit for realising Telangana, whether the Telangana that becomes a reality on 2 June was the one for which they had fought, who would be better placed for reconstruction of Telangana, and whether to base their choice on party or an individual candidate. These were the questions hovered in the minds of each and every voter in Telangana. That time principally Congress and TRS were staking claims each other that credit should be theirs. It is well known that the Congress said it has given Telangana, the TRS said it brought about Telangana while the BJP said Telangana bill was possible only with its support. The TDP also claimed that Telangana became possible thanks to its letter to the Pranab Mukherjee Committee in 2008. Touted to be very first elections for a new born state Telangana the battle gained much significance in the area and there were predictions on a triangular battle between TRS, Congress and TDP-BJP alliance.

Now the electoral battle is over and the fate of candidates for 119 assembly and 17 Lok Sabha seats has been sealed in the EVMs. The turnout has been over 72 percent which is 5% more than what it was in 2009 and after the historic vote, everyone in the region is waiting s with bated breath for the results and who would form the first government of the new state. There is already a lot of talk about who will muster the sufficient numbers to form Telangana’s first government.

Congress claims that the huge turnout of voters in Telangana is an indication that T people have thronged polling stations to cast their votes for the Congress to express gratitude for delivering the Telangana State. Both Congress and TRS parties campaigned vigorously to establish their political supremacy in the new Telangana Sate, their confidence seemed to have been replaced by apprehensions about forming the government on their own individual strength. The think tanks in both the TRS and Congress camps seemed to have concluded after the curtains came down on the electioneering that the chances of them individually securing absolute majority to form the government on their own was bleak.

All through campaign the atmosphere indicated that the voters are not swayed by any wave favouring any single party but it will be mainly by the relative merits and demerits of the candidates. There was a general view that no party will get the absolute majority but Congress and TRS will stop on the edge. Intelligence reports suggested that the TRS will emerge as the single largest party, followed by the Congress, the difference being five to eight Assembly seats. Then on the polling day sudden change of heart in people was witnessed with regard to the credit for Telangana and they appeared to have decided to express their gratitude to TRS for carrying struggle and making new state a reality. There was a kind of undercurrent to give a silent. This was because there were apprehensions in believing the Congress party due to their bad track record regarding Telangana. Most of the respondents felt that lack of credibility in Telangana Congress leadership has damaged Congress prospects in the elections.

Though people agree that Congress helped to achieve Telangana, if comes to power would only listen to the Congress high command, there by jeopardizing the interests of Telangana especially regarding issues like sharing of water, employment, education, etc. People in the region believed that BJP was compelled to support the bill at the last momet and it stand did not appeal to voter in Telangana. The TDP letter to Centre did not convince people because of its duel stand at the discussion in Parliament and Assembly and Chandrababu Naidu meeting various national leaders at Delhi during the discussion of Bill in Parliament and hence marginalised. This kind of thinking shows that voters in Telangana were not puzzled anymore.

The data of post poll survey with 5,000 people across ten districts of Telangana, indicated that TRS would get absolute majority with 63 seats. Congress 28, TDP-BJP alliance 16, MIM 8 and others bag 4 seats in 119 members Assembly. The survey results point to a different voting pattern in the Assembly and Lok Sabha segment. The survey indicated that TRS may not be able to repeat its performance in the parliamentary elections, leading to the conclusion that the 2.81 crore electorate of Telangana may have voted differently for the assembly and parliamentary polls. The claim of TRS that their performance has been better in the assembly segment when compared to the Lok Sabha confirms this observation. In Parliament, the survey indicated that TRS would get 7 seats, Congress 6, TDP-BJP alliance 3 and MIM retaining one seat.

Though TRS is not organizationally strong, the campaign by its Chief Chadrashekar Rao in 107 out of 119 Assembly constituencies in two weeks helped TRS and consolidated the people’s opinion who did not want a hung assembly. KCR is shrewd and knows which way the wind is blowing and claimed that he is the voice of Telangana. His huge risk and master strategy to go solo in the elections has worked and cemented his position as the chief architect of Telangana cause. There is hardly any doubt of his becoming first Chief Minister of Telangana state and securing prime position in its history.