High-Stakes Triangular Battle Looms as Telangana Gears Up for Lok Sabha Elections

Telangana braces for a crucial showdown in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha Elections on May 13, with all 17th parliamentary seats up for grabs. In the previous 2019 elections, the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) secured nine seats, while the BJP clinched four, Congress three, and Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM retained the lone Hyderabad seat.

This electoral about garners significant attention for several reasons:

A resurgent Congress aims to replicate its success from the November 2023 assembly elections, where it secured 64 out of 119 seats, ending the decade-long rule of the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led BRS.

The BRS faces a survival battle following setbacks post-2023 assembly election defeat.

Telangana is strategically important for the BJP's "Mission South" and its aspiration to achieve the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) 's 400-seat target in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.

With the Congress focusing on its six promised guarantees and bolstering its ranks with leaders from other parties, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy spearheads the campaign, aiming to boost the party's seat tally beyond the current three.

Former chief minister and BRS chief KCR embarked on a campaign bus tour across the state's 17 seats, despite being barred from campaigning for two days by the Election Commission for using offensive language.

The BJP relies heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who extensively campaigned in Telangana, with rallies planned on May 10. Notably, both the PM and Home Minister Amit Shah have addressed numerous meetings in the state.

The electoral battleground of Telangana sets the stage for a high-stakes triangular clash between the BJP, Congress, and BRS. Key contests include Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Karim Nagar, and Chevella constituencies.

In Hyderabad, BJP fields Madhavi Latha against AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. Secunderabad witnesses a face-off between BJP's G Kishan Reddy, BRS's T Padma Rao Goud, and Congress's Danam Nagender. In Karimnagar, former BJP state chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar contends against BRS's B Vinod Kumar.

Chevella features Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, BJP's richest candidate nationally, vying against Congress's G Ranjith Reddy and BRS's Kasani Gnaneshwar Mudiraj.

A total of 96 Lok Sabha constituencies across 10 states and union territories will witness polls in phase four, including Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Jammu and Kashmir.