The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) will have reason to smile if the exit poll results for the byelection in Huzurnagar hold on 24 October. But it will also signal trouble for the ruling party on home turf.
That’s because the BJP, which is predicted to win both Maharashtra and Haryana will start flexing its muscles in Telangana. Even though the BJP is expected to fare a poor third or fourth in Huzurnagar, the fact that the Congress will lose both in the two state elections as well as possibly Huzurnagar, will make the grand old party look even more vulnerable. The BJP will look to ride on the success in the other two states to declare Hyderabad abhi door nahi.
Also read : What does the Huzurnagar exit poll say?
In a recent interview, BJP president and Union Home minister Amit Shah had spoken of encouraging Lok Sabha results in Telangana. The next step for the party is to make similar gains in the assembly elections and for that it needs more charismatic leaders and a wider cadre base. At this point in time, it is hardly present in districts like undivided Nalgonda. A defeat for Congress will push more leaders and cadre into either the TRS or the BJP. Since the ruling party is bursting at the seams, the BJP will be seen as the next best option.
What this will do to the Congress in the long run is to reduce it to a TDP-like status. A party that may still have a certain vote bank in every constituency but no leadership to tap into it.
Categories: Telangana