NEWS ANALYSIS- Prospects of T more real now:TRS Victory May Trigger Realignment Of Forces In State

What matters in Telangana today is Telangana alone.In a manifestation of this sentiment,the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) swept the bypolls in Telangana and made the prospects of a separate state a lot more real. Till a fortnight ago,the general feeling was that TRS would lose at least a few among the 10 seats that it had vacated and for which bypolls had been held.But the electorate realising that defeating the TRS candidates would put a break on the new state came out and voted decisively for Telangana. Ask TDP boss Chandrababu Naidu or AP Congress chief D Srinivas.Naidu wanted to obfuscate the Telangana issue by kicking up the Babli row with Maharashtra but all his candidates were routed and many lost their deposits.D Srinivas was trying to campaign on the development issue in Nizamabad town promising that he would raise it to the standards of nearby Nanded in Maharashtra,but he had to see the face of defeat for the second time running.

It is true that with 11 seats (Including Vemulawada where the TDP candidate shifted loyalty to KCR),TRS has less than 10 per cent of the total 119 legislative seats in Telangana.But K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) has now tasted blood and is unlikely to sit still.His men along with the Joint Action Committee will now build up a systematic campaign in Telangana and may also demand that all other MLAs from Telangana resign and seek re-election.They might start boycotting ministers and MLAs and not allow them to enter the region without quitting.

Especially affected by the election results will be the TDP whose cadres can now be expected to increasingly desert the party and join the TRS.This will suit the TRS too,because it is presently a party without significant cadre strength.Some amount of cadre movement is likely from the Congress too,although their bosses will tell them to hold their horse.The argument to be sold by the Congresses bosses: Telangana cannot happen without a nod from Delhi,so KCR will be forced to play ball with us.

For Congress,the rout in Telangana (their candidates also lost deposits in some places) is a double whammy.As KCR looms larger then life in Telangana,Jaganmohan Reddy threatens the grand old party in Andhra and Rayalaseema.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(source-toi)