Telangana is among the newest states in India being carved out of Andhra Pradesh. It has 17 Lok Sabha and 119 assembly seats. After its existence, this is the second Lok Sabha election in Telengana. In the first Lok Sabha election after its formation, in Telengana, the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) won the highest 9 seats from the state, followed by the BJP with 4 seats. The Congress party won 3 seats, while the AIMIM won its traditional seat of Hyderabad.
The politics in Telengana have completely shifted from the previous LS election in 2019 to the ongoing LS election. The BRS had lost much of its mass contact. The BRS miserably lost the 2023 Assembly elections in the State. The BRS supremo has not paid enough attention to the Assembly election out of overconfidence in winning the elections on its own. The biggest downturn for BRS supremo came in the Kamareddy assembly seat, where he was defeated by the BJP’s K V Ramana Reddy. In this seat incumbent CM of Telengana Anumula Revanth Reddy was also defeated by the hands of BJP and came 3rd behind the BJP and the BRS.
After a humiliating defeat in the Assembly elections, the BRS is facing continuous desertions. Leaders from all parts of the state are deserting the party by either joining the Congress party or the BJP. The BRS has lost most of its momentum for the Lok Sabha election, firstly by humiliating defeat in the Assembly election and secondly by desertions in the party.
For all regional parties, power is the glue that remains intact. It is necessary for the regional parties to remain in power either in the state or at the centre to remain alive in the existence of the party. Sharad Pawar formed the National Congress Party (NCP) by revolting against Sonia Gandhi, but he soon shared power with the Congress Party in Maharashtra only in order to keep his party alive.
The Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh is losing its mass base swiftly as it is not in power either in State or at the centre. The Samajwadi Party is also plagued with the same problem. In Maharashtra, the NCP got divided as it has no power either at the centre or in the state. In this era of BJP uprisings, the regional parties are losing their bases. Its mantra is for the regional parties to either align with the BJP or go into oblivion. In Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) always tries to woo parties to come into power in the state to remain intact. The AIADMK in Tamil Nadu is likely to go into oblivion after these LS elections. The AIADMK MLAs will merge either with the BJP or with other parties, as the AIADMK will be in an existential crisis after the verdict of 2024 LS election.
In Telengana, due to desertions in the BRS, the party is no longer in such a condition to put up a strong fight for LS elections. Regional parties have a minimal role in Lok Sabha elections as of now. The voters clearly differentiate between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections and also choose representatives as per.
In the 2024 ongoing LS elections in Telangana, the contest is completely squeezed between the BJP and the Congress party. The voters will elect either one of the parties between these two. In this changed scenario from the Assembly election in the state in 2023 the BJP has a lot to gain, and the BJP is likely to increase its seat tally even in double digits from the state. The BJP always, in all parts of India, defeats the Congress party decisively. The BJP and the Congress party faced off directly for 190 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, with the BJP taking 175 of those seats. Similarly, in 2014 LS elections, on 189 seats, these two parties were in contest, and the BJP won 166 seats. So the BJP will replicate this formula in Telengana too.
Another player in Telengana politics All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen is contesting in its traditional seat of Hyderabad. The BJP is also putting up a tough fight to AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi. Owaisi is facing the toughest election of his political career from Kompella Madhavi Latha of the BJP from Hyderabad LS seat. The BJP is getting domino effect on all seats from the Hyderabad LS seat contest. The BJP got a similar messaging effect in the entire Kerala by putting a tough challenge to Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram.
