With a meagre three days of campaigning left for the upcoming MLC elections in the graduates' constituencies of Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda and Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar, the candidates of the major political parties and the independent candidates have both stepped up their attempts to solicit support and woo the voters of the six districts.
The incumbent MLCs of both the constituencies, TRS' Palla Rajeshwar Reddy and BJP's N Ramchander Rao respectively, are in the fray with the hopes of retaining their seats.
Contesting against Rao on behalf of the ruling party is Surabhi Vani Devi, daughter of former Prime Minister late P V Narasimha Rao, and G Chinna Reddy of the Congress. Apart from them, former MLC Dr K Nageshwar is contesting as an independent candidate.
Going head-to-head with Palla Rajeshwar Reddy are the saffron party's G Premendar Reddy and the Congress' Ramulu Naik. TJS head M Kodandaram, Telangana Inti Party chief Cheruku Sudhakar and CPI candidate B Jayasarathi Reddy (a journalist) are the other serious contenders for the post.
Observers feel that the pink party's decision to give Vani Devi the ticket for the Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar seat, one where victory has eluded its candidates in three elections in the past, was a political masterstroke. Many Narasimha Rao loyalists are bound to extend their support to his daughter, people feel. The TRS seems especially keen to capture the seat, and has been campaigning relentlessly in its attempts to do so.
Meanwhile, the Congress also seems determined to stage a comeback in Telangana through these elections, and has been leaving no stone unturned to win over the graduate voters.
Apart from the more traditional campaign speeches, all the candidates have also taken to social media to woo the younger graduate demographic - a key vote bank in the upcoming elections - and have been making promises to alleviate issues of unemployment, and those being faced by the government employees in the state.
But what truly reflects the nearness of the upcoming elections is the strident exchange of allegations between the political parties in the state. The issue of unemployment seems to have taken centre stage here too, and has resulted in not a few bitter spats between the ruling party and its rivals. The
exchanges between IT and Industries Minister and state BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar are evidence of exactly this.