Congress, TD target TRS vote bank

Hyderabad: The Congress-Telugu Desam’s proposed tie-up for 2019 Assembly elections is aimed to beat TRS in the city and bag maximum number of Assembly seats in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts.

The Congress and TDP leaders feel that a considerable chunk of population of AP origin reside in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts and they will play a crucial role in deciding the fortunes of parties in these districts.

The Congress and the TD want to project the TRS as a friendly party of the BJP, which backtracked on according special status to AP.

Congress, TD hopes that AP origin voters who are angry with the BJP will favour Congress-TD as Congress had promised special category status to AP if they come into power in 2019 elections.

TRS had no presence in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts ever since it’s launch in 2001.

It could not contest even in 2009 GHMC elections due to lack of candidates. Though the TRS won Assembly elections in 2014 by winning 62 out of 119 seats, it won a mere three seats out of  24 seats in the GHMC limits. However, the TRS emerged as a force to reckon with in GHMC limits within two years when it swept GHMC elections with a landslide majority in February 2016.

TRS won 99 out of 150 corporator seats in GHMC, which is an all-time record for any party.

The TRS secured 43.85 per cent of the votes in the GHMC elections. The party’s vote share jumped from 34.3 per cent in the 2014 Assembly elections to 43.85 per cent.

The AIMIM which won 44 seats in the GHMC election secured 15.85 per cent votes.

However, it’s vote share declined from the 2014 Assembly elections.

TDP saw its vote share plunge from a high of 20.9 per cent in Assembly election to 13.11 per cent in the GHMC election. Its then ally, the BJP too saw its vote share decline from 12.8 per cent in the Assembly election to 10.34 per cent in the GHMC election.

The TD-BJP jointly won 14 of the 24 Assembly segments in 2014.

The Congress which drew a blank in the 2014 Assembly elections could win  two seats in the GHMC elections.  The party’s vote share  declined from 15.1 per cent in the Assembly elections to 10.4 per cent in the GHMC election.

“This data reveals that TD and Congress continue to enjoy significant vote share in the GHMC limits despite performing poorly in GHMC elections. If both these parties join hands in the changed political circumstances, the AP origin population in city may prefer TD-Congress combine and help us to beat TRS in 2019,” party sources said.