With the results of the Legislative Council elections, the BJP is riding a wave of momentum. Given that the NDA alliance is gaining strength in Telangana, both KCR and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy need to prepare for challenges.
Published Mar 09, 2025 | 12:12 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 09, 2025 | 12:52 PM
NDA alliance gaining base in Telugu states makes it difficult for Congress, BRS in Telangana.
Synopsis: In the Legislative Council elections held for the teachers’ and graduates’ constituencies in the two Telugu states, the voters seem to align with the NDA alliance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims to strengthen the NDA at the national level, which raises the question of whether his experiment will be implemented in Telangana for the next elections. A strengthened NDA in Telangana will prove costly for both Congress and the BRS.
In the Legislative Council elections held for the teachers’ and graduates’ constituencies in the two Telugu states, voters gave distinct signals to both the ruling and Opposition parties in their own ways. In Telangana, the verdict of the voters empowered the Opposition, while in Andhra Pradesh, the Opposition was warned that their survival would be difficult unless they changed their ways.
In Telangana, the BJP proved its dominance among the three main political parties by winning both the teachers’ and graduates’ constituencies. The main Opposition party, the BRS, refrained from contesting this election, which made it a contest mainly between Congress and the BJP.
The Congress party, which had previously won the graduates’ constituency, lost it in this election, which was a significant setback. Once a stronghold of the BRS, North Telangana saw a shift in favour of the BJP, which strengthened its position in this region. The BJP also made inroads into the Teachers’ constituency in the unified Warangal district, a region that had supported the Telangana movement.
The absence of the BRS in the elections worked in favour of the BJP. While it’s hard to predict how the results would have been if there had been a triangular contest, the results have confirmed the perception that the BJP is expanding its presence in Telangana.
This also strengthens the belief that the Congress party is weakening. If this trend continues, there will be intense discussions on the state of the Congress party by the time of the next general elections.
Former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao — popularly known as KCR — stated on Friday, 7 March, that people were ready to support him whenever elections are held. If that’s true, the BSP candidate supported by BRS, Prasanna Harikrishna, who managed to secure only the third position, should not have lost.
This raises the question: Will the BJP overtake the BRS as the primary Opposition party? The BJP has been relatively strong in Telangana since the beginning, and recently, it has been strengthening its position in the Legislative Assembly. Now, the political dynamics leading up to the next elections are a subject of discussion.’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims to strengthen the NDA at the national level, which raises the question of whether his experiment will be implemented in Telangana for the next elections.
In Andhra Pradesh, the TDP, Jana Sena, and BJP alliance achieved a significant victory. Even though TDP had its own majority, it has chosen to continue with the NDA alliance.
The political circles in Telangana have been discussing whether this alliance will be replicated in the state.
BJP is institutionally strong in Telangana, while the TDP has a reasonable number of votes. Jana Sena also has some support in Telangana. In the last Assembly elections, the TDP stayed away, benefiting the Congress party. If TDP contests alone, it might not win a seat, but if it partners with the main party (BJP), it could influence the election results.
In this context, the obvious question is why shouldn’t the NDA alliance be formed in Telangana? There were proposals in the past to ally, but the BJP’s state leadership rejected them, leading the BJP to contest alone.
Even when TDP allied with Jana Sena in the previous elections, it didn’t help much. BJP leaders have realised the importance of TDP’s voters, which has led to recent suggestions that TDP might contest in Telangana as part of the NDA.
KCR recently stated that he would not tolerate Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s political moves in Telangana.
KCR’s opposition to Naidu is not just for sentiment — he is obviously worried that several BRS leaders, including some MLAs, might consider joining the BJP if the NDA alliance is formed.
A few months ago, a BRS MLA told the author that he was thinking of joining TDP because of the upcoming NDA alliance. Even though these comments seemed premature at the time, the situation is changing rapidly now.
BJP’s national leadership is also considering new strategies. If the NDA alliance is formed in Telangana, KCR will be the one to suffer the most. And hence, he has begun questioning Naidu’s involvement in Telangana politics.
It is also interesting to note that even though BRS has sent signals about cooperating with BJP in future elections, BJP leadership has not shown interest.
The saffron party wants to see the end of KCR’s reign in Telangana. BJP leaders feel that even if TDP and Jana Sena are included, they can still play the leading role.
Considering that, KCR has decided to step into active politics again, declaring that he will participate in the Legislative Assembly sessions from now on.
Telangana still has around three and a half years before the next elections, and many things could change in this period.
With the results of the Legislative Council elections, the BJP is riding a wave of momentum. Given that the NDA alliance is gaining strength in Telangana, both KCR and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy need to prepare for challenges.
The infighting in Congress is evident with ministers and other leaders sometimes making announcements ahead of the chief minister, creating confusion over who is in charge.
As a result, the belief that the Congress party is weakening is gaining traction. If the party does not take action to strengthen the leadership, it risks losing control.
Even though the deadline for local body elections has passed, the ruling Congress has failed to hold the elections. This indicates that Congress is unable to act decisively.
If the NDA alliance takes shape in Telangana, the political equations could change rapidly.
The key question is how far Revanth Reddy could manage to control the party members and prevent them from moving towards the alliance. Some BRS MLAs who joined Congress after the 2023 election results are now rethinking their decision, which complicates Congress’s situation.
How Revanth Reddy manages this challenge will be crucial in the coming months.
In Andhra Pradesh, the results of the Legislative Council elections have boosted the power of the NDA alliance. The TDP candidates in the graduates’ constituencies secured 65 percent of the votes, which is significant.
Although the main Opposition party, YSRCP, did not contest, it indirectly supported candidates with links to the CPI.
If the YSRCP had contested directly, the results might have been different.
Despite some members of the Telugu community posting on social media about why they should not vote for TDP, voters ignored this and supported the TDP candidates, confirming the party’s strength.
Even in the elections held for two graduates’ constituencies in the Godavari, Krishna, and Guntur districts, traditionally considered YSRCP strongholds, TDP candidates won with huge majorities.
The situation of the CPI(M) also warrants attention. The CPI(M) has been working closely with the YSRCP, which has affected its credibility.
Once, CPI(M) was seen as a party with a strong reputation for honesty and integrity, but now it has lost this image.
In the recent Legislative Council elections, candidates from CPI(M) faced heavy defeats, losing significantly in Guntur and Krishna districts.
This reveals how the party has lost its credibility among the public. The CPI(M) is now largely limited to Kerala, and its leadership has made several poor decisions that have damaged the party’s standing in Telugu states.
In the recent elections, CPI(M)’s candidate from the teachers’ constituency, who had some credibility, was heavily defeated.
Finally, let’s discuss former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
After the election results, it is clear that Jagan is not ready to accept the reality. He previously claimed that the EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) were tampered. However, has no explanation for the outcome of the Legislative Council elections, where the NDA alliance’s majority increased.
The results have proven that the NDA alliance is strong in Andhra Pradesh. Even though some Telugu people were upset, their frustration had no significant impact on the results.
The recent results also show that Jagan’s leadership is increasingly out of touch with reality. He seems to be relying on his inner circle for advice, rather than seeking constructive feedback.
Jagan’s reluctance to engage in the legislative process, refusing to attend the sessions, is politically unwise. KCR, who once supported Jagan, is now planning to attend the Assembly, acknowledging the importance of the Opposition in holding the government accountable.
Jagan, however, continues to avoid real political engagement. His refusal to engage in the legislative process and his focus on self-promotion only reflect his political insecurity.
(Vemuri Radhakrishna is a Senior Journalist and Managing Director of Andhra Jyothi Telugu daily. The article was originally published in Telugu in Andhra Jyothi and translated and reproduced with permission.)
