First Time, Council Election Turns Curious

[Anta Assamey]

Telangana will witness biennial elections to the two seats represented by graduates in the legislative council. These are the undivided districts of Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda, Khammam, Warangal.  The elections will be held in March this year. 

Political parties which believe the upper house to be a political rehabilitation center for the unemployed and disgruntled politicians are investing heavily to capture the two seats represented by the educated.

Thus, for the first time in the history, the legislative council elections are turning out into a high profile electoral battle and with a high voltage political campaign.

The Nalgonda, Khammam, Warangal seat is witnessing a multi cornered contest with BJP, Congress, Prof. Kodandaram and host of others challenging the TRS, which at present holds this seat.

The TRS won the Nalgonda seat in all the elections held after the revival of the upper house in united Andhra Pradesh. The party won this seat in 2007, 2009, and 2015 thus making it prestigious for the pink party to retain this seat.

The ruling congress was averse to contesting in council elections from graduates and teachers seat. But the victory of T Jeevan Reddy from north Telangana Graduates constituency enthused the congress leaders to contest this time too.

On the other hand, as the Times of India reports, while the BJP wants to consolidate its bases among the educated voters in the three districts of Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Mahabubnagar by fielding its sitting MLC N Ramchander Rao and win the seat again, the entry of two time MLC and independent candidate professor K Nageshwar has made the election interesting. The contest here would have otherwise been a fight among three major political parties, BJP, TRS and Congress.

Prof K Nageshwar, an independent candidate won this seat in 2007 and 2009. As the Times of India report further states, the decision of Prof Nageshwar to plunge into the electoral fray despite remaining aloof in the 2015 poll is posing a challenge to the BJP, TRS and Congress. Prof Nageshwar has defeated sitting BJP MLC N Ramchander Rao in 2009.