Telangana Elections 2023: Who are the key candidates? What are the issues that matter?

Telangana is all set to go to polls on Thursday (30 November). As many as 3.17 crore voters will exercise their franchise to elect legislators for a 119-member state Assembly. The southern state is expected to witness a three-way contest, with the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) taking on the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) are also in the fray. Telangana, the newest state of India, was carved out from Andhra Pradesh and came into existence in June 2014. It has been ruled by BRS’ (formerly Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS) K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) since then. His party, the then TRS, had swept the 2018 Assembly elections by securing 88 seats, the Congress came second with 21 seats while the BJP managed only one. As Telangana votes once again, let’s find out who are the key candidates and what are the important issues in the state. Telangana Election 2023: Key candidates KCR, who has been Telangana’s chief minister for nearly a decade, is fighting this year’s election from two constituencies – Gajwel and Kamareddy. Telangana Congress president Anumula Revanth Reddy will contest against the BRS supremo from Kamareddy. Reddy has also been fielded from his home turf of Kodangal. [caption id=“attachment_13445972” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy is taking on CM KCR from Kamareddy. PTI File Photo[/caption] KCR will face BJP MLA Eatala Rajender from the Gajwel seat, while the saffron party’s K Venkata Ramana Reddy is fighting against the Telangana CM from the Kamareddy constituency. KT Rama Rao, popularly known as KTR, is KCR’s son and the working BRS chief. He has been given a ticket from Sircilla, where he will face BJP’s Rani Rudrama Reddy and Congress leader Kondam Karuna Mahender Reddy. BJP has fielded its sitting MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar from Karimnagar against BRS MLA Gangula Kamalakar and Congress candidate Purumalla Srinivas. Kamalakar, who is the Telangana minister for Backward Classes Welfare, has won the Assembly polls from the seat for three straight terms, albeit with falling margins. Congress has fielded former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin from the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency. He is contesting against BRS’ Maganti Gopinath and BJP candidate Lankala Deepak Reddy. Criminal cases against candidates Around 23 per cent of the 2,290 candidates in the Telangana Assembly elections have declared criminal cases against them, Hindustan Times (HT) reported citing a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)and the Telangana Election Watch. Around 72 per cent of Congress candidates have criminal cases registered against them and 51 per cent are facing serious criminal charges. These figures are 71 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively, among BJP candidates. Telangana polls 2023: Hot-button issues As BRS eyes a third term, chief minister KCR is battling anti-incumbency in rural Telangana. Professor K Nageshwar, a political analyst, told HT, “The anti-incumbency is not sudden, and its rise has been gradual and clear. When the BJP did well in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Council elections and won the Dubbak seat, it was an expression of anger against KCR. The BJP took advantage of that. Now that the Congress has galvanised itself into the primary anti-BRS party, it is gaining because of the anti-incumbency”. BRS leader KTR reportedly accepted there is a sentiment of anti-incumbency but added that there is “higher pro-incumbency”. “There is a silent majority which is content with our government,” News18 quoted him as saying. To battle anti-incumbency, KCR’s party announced several sops to woo voters in the run-up to the Assembly elections. From women to farmers, the BRS has announced many welfare schemes to counter Congress’ six guarantees in the southern state. The BJP has made its own poll promises. The Opposition parties have tried to corner the ruling BRS over joblessness in the state. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed earlier that the state has more than 40 lakh unemployed youth, as per The Quint report. The unemployment issue flared up in October when a 23-year-old woman from Warangal allegedly died by suicide in her hostel. The tragic incident sparked protests in the state among government job aspirants who claimed she was dejected for not getting a job due to the Group-2 exam by the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) getting deferred again, The Quint reported. According to KT Rama Rao, the total number of employees in Telangana’s IT industry rose to almost nine lakh from over three lakh in 2014. However, as per CNBC, the availability of formal sector jobs is limited in the state. Both the BJP and Congress have made promises of job creation. Farmers are an important voter base in Telangana. The BRS has vowed to raise the amount provided through the Rythu Bandhu farm investment support scheme. The BJP has also attempted to court the farmers with PM Narendra Modi announcing setting up the National Turmeric Board in Nizamabad – a long-pending demand of farmers, as per Deccan Herald (DH). The Congress has also announced sops for farmers. Backward Castes, SCs, STs and minorities comprise over 85 per cent of the population in Telangana. While the Congress has promised a nationwide caste census, the issue did not get much traction among Telangana Congress leaders during the campaigning, as per Newslaundry. [caption id=“attachment_13445992” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Union home minister Amit Shah has promised to make a leader from the Backward Class community as the next Telangana CM if the BJP comes to power. PTI File Photo[/caption] Meanwhile, Union home minister Amit Shah has promised to make a chief minister from the Backward Class community if the BJP comes to power. The BRS is battling corruption allegations, with Congress’ Revanth Reddy promising to investigate BRS’ “corruption”. The BJP has accused both the BRS and Congress of corruption. With inputs from agencies