KCR will be facing friend-turned-foe and former colleague Etela Rajender from the BJP in the high-profile Gajwel seat. (PTI/File)
Telangana Election 2023: KCR has campaigned extensively across the state, but has left Gajwel for last just as Siddaramaiah had left Varuna for last in Karnataka elections
Much like Siddaramaiah‘s one-day campaign in Varuna constituency during Karnataka elections this May, Telangana Chief Minister and BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao is saving his Gajwel campaign for last.
BRS leaders claim KCR, as Rao is popularly known, has won the hearts and minds of the people in Gajwel, but political analysts deem this approach as a display of overconfidence. Gajwel constituency in Telangana has elected KCR twice before. This time, the Chief Minister extensively campaigned across the state, leaving Gajwel for last.
“KCR ji will close the campaign for Telangana elections in his constituency. There is no need for him to campaign in his seat as the work that he has done will campaign for him,” BRS spokesperson Dasoju Shravan Kumar told News18.
The BRS chief will be facing friend-turned-foe and former colleague Etela Rajender from the BJP in this high-profile seat. Rajender had joined the BJP after quitting the BRS in 2021 following a major fallout with the party’s leadership. He successfully contested the bypolls from Huzurabad seat and declared he would defeat KCR in a direct contest. The Congress has nominated Thumkunta Narsa for the seat.
KCR is contesting from two seats, Gajwel and Kamareddy, which is also perceived to be a decision based on his waning hold on the fortress. He won the Gajwel seat in 2018 and 2014, the two elections Telangana has voted in since formation.
BRS leaders say the welfare initiatives implemented by KCR’s government, including Rythu Bandhu, the Aasara pension scheme, enhancements in road infrastructure, housing projects, and youth employment initiatives, have yielded positive results and are expected to secure a resounding victory for the party.
KCR is acknowledged for transforming Gajwel into a model constituency, marked by well-maintained interior roads, the creation of an Outer Ring Road, and the establishment of a 100-bed super-specialty hospital dedicated to women and children.
“Gajwel has some of the best infrastructure, drinking water, sanitation, and development. People have seen the city grow and it will soon be top class like any other city. When one can see the development first hand… people see that there is development and investments beyond Hyderabad. Why won’t they trust KCR for another term then,” said a senior BRS leader.
Political analyst Gali Nagaraja thinks KCR has a tough challenge ahead as he contests against Etela Rajender. He points out that the Mallanna Sagar project led to the displacement of numerous farmers, some of whom died by suicide after failing to receive rehabilitation and relocation package from the government. Voters in Gajwel as well as across the state speak of KCR’s inaccessibility, citing his confinement to his farmhouse.
“Four issues that KCR is facing in Gajwel are anti-incumbency, being inaccessible to people, local problems like the displacement of farmers under the Mallanna Sagar project, as well as social engineering. All this shows it’s not an easy ride for him,” said Nagaraja.
