Telangana_Elections: 8 Factors Which Decided the Power Shift?

Putting an end to the wait the election results were out and we got a clear winner in Telangana. Making the exit poll surveys prediction true the state saw a powershift and the BRS which won two consecutive terms lost the elections with the grand old Congress party coming to power.

The election results in Telangana are nothing short of any sensation. Congress which was away from power for almost a decade turned the tables around and bounced back. This changed the political landscape in the state and the political observers list out a few reasons which might have left a big impact.

1: Anti-incumbency: The main factor in the elections is the anti-incumbency which is evident. Observers say that KCR’s image was largely impacted as the MLAs and party workers at the grassroots level reportedly had dissatisfaction, which led to an alleged gap between the leadership and the workers.

2: Public Perception of Rising Assets in Villages and Assembly levels: Observers say that the public has a bad image of the BRS leaders at the Village and Assembly constituencies as they strongly believe their assets increased massively when compared to individuals. They compared the election nominations filed by the candidates in recent elections and previous elections which shows the rise in their assets.

3. Dominance of MLAs in Decision-Making: The alleged dominance of the MLAs in decision-making in many aspects involving the administration is said to have done damage at a big level. Their dominance was at a point that they even influenced the SIs and MROs. As candidates they suggested were given the position their word got a weightage. BRS banked heavily on welfare schemes and there are allegations that MLAs influenced the distribution of the benefits as well.

4. Voter Fatigue After 10 Years of Rule: When a party is in power for consecutive terms it is common for the people to think about the change and give others a chance. The same worked with the BRS which won two terms. People might have decided to go for a change and the Congress had the fruits of the public opinion. Sensing the public mood Congress came up with an election strategy that added fuel to it.

5..Perceived Development Achievements in the Current Term: There is nothing to downplay the efficiency of the BRS management in development in the state. The state went through various developments under its leadership. Many companies came to the IT hub and many attractions were added like cable bridge. Public expectations were high and these changes did not meet the expectations.

6. .Issues with Not Changing Candidates for 45 Seats: The BRS leadership did not change the candidates in many constituencies and the majority of candidates lost the elections. Who knows the situation might have been different had the leadership changed the candidates in as many as 45 seats. BRS might have felt that changing the candidates might result in the angry leaders shifting sides.

7. The sentiment of self-respect: Telangana people are not like others and they have a strong sense of self-respect. Based on the same their preferences in supporting the parties differ. We have seen this in 2014 and 2018. In both terms, the sentiment worked for the BRS. But the same gave a hammer blow to the party and worked well for the Congress party.

Another thing is that people are alleging a possible arrogance in the speeches of the BRS leaders. Having confidence in themselves is one thing and downplaying the opposition parties is one thing. The second one was evident as per the observers. A few controversial statements made by KTR also played a role. The situation was such that KTR acknowledged he should have not made such statements.

8. Consulting Team Strategic Acumen played a crucial role: The final aspect is that Congress had hit it out of the park in the strategy. The team excelled in the area. When the BJP could not actively succeed in the area, Congress saw an opportunity and used it. The campaign was so successful that we saw what was the success.