Hyderabad, April 25: With the Election Commission blowing the whistle for by-polls to one Lok Sabha and 18 Assembly seats, hectic race against time has begun.
The elections being considered as mini-general elections and semi finals for the 2014 general elections will decide the fate of three major runners - Congress, TDP and YSR Congress.
While for the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana debacle in the polls might cost them their seats, for the TDP chief who has been dreaming of once again becoming the Chief Minister, poll defeat might result in his ranks slipping into deep depression. For the YSR Congress chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, defeat would mean that people had believed the charges that his late father Dr. Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and he himself were corrupt. But victory in the by-polls is likely to swell his ranks. Some sitting Congress MLAs also might jump into his bandwagon, with the 2014 elections in view.
Of the three parties, it was YSR Congress which needed least preparation, as 17 of the 18 Assembly seats and the Nellore parliament seat were held by its supporters. Jagan did not face the headache of candidate selection as those who have relinquished their seats were YSRC candidates. Jagan has also been in the forefront of the election campaign as he has been with the people ever since his father died and has been continuing his marathon ‘Odarpu Yatra’ which he has instantly transformed as election campaign the minute MLAs supporting him were disqualified. Jumping into the battlefield next to him was Naidu who has already campaigned in some; districts, assailing both the Congress and the YSRC.
While YSRC was way ahead of others in candidate selection, the TDP has also finalized its candidates almost immediately. Congress party despite its own admission during the last by-elections that late selection of candidates had contributed to its debacle had not learnt any lessons and is yet to name its candidates.
Congress is also worried about internal squabbles as always and the Jagan factor. However, TDP is in no better a position. But its only solace would be as none of the seats was its, whatever victory it could achieve would be a bonus. But TDP is not taking these elections lightly, as it had already lost 2 general polls. If it were to win the 2014 elections it would have to win the seats of other parties and not just retain its seats.
For Jagan also the by-polls would be a life-and-death question. Several strong leaders of different parties and even many Congress MLAs are eagerly awaiting his party’s performance so that they could jump into it. If his party wins most of the seats it might mean fall of the Kiran government and a mid-term poll, fulfilling his dream of becoming the Chief Minister. If Jagan fails to win these elections, because of the criminal charges he has been facing, his party might slip into oblivion. Apart from these three political parties, Chiranjeevi also has a stake as the Congress party is expecting him to lead the campaign and win the seats for it. Chiranjeevi was blamed of having neglected his own Tirupati constituency after getting elected from there. He has met with serious dissent from the people of the constituency during his visits there earlier. Will he be able to at least win back his own seat is the question being discussed in political circles.
In Parakala, the only seat in Telangana going to polls in the ensuing by-elections, a complex five-cornered contest is likely, The seat was vacated by Jagan loyalist Konda Surekha. Apart from Congress, TDP and YSRC, TRS and BJP also would be throwing their hats in the ring in this constituency. TRS and BJP would once again be colliding head-on in this seat, because both have left the Telangana issue to the winds and started concentrating on strengthening themselves in the name of Telangana. For Jagan, ensuring the victory of Surekha is a moral responsibility as she has quit the cabinet in support of his father and the Assembly seat in his support.
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