2019 Lok Sabha Election Results for Telangana: NDA makes inroads into KCR's fortress, restricts him to just 9 seats

With the all-important Lok Sabha polls concluding in the  world's largest democracy on Thursday, 1.3 billion citizens of India including an estimated 900 million-strong electorate now await the formation of the 17th Lok Sabha  with the 542 (the Vellore polls were countermanded) newly elected members to the lower house of India's Parliament and consequently, the process of forming the next government of India will enter its final stage. 

After the thrilling counting day on May 23 which ended in a huge triumph for the NDA and commencement of the formation of Modi Sarkar 2.0, Republic Media Network  presents the results which ended in Prime Minister Narendra Modi getting re-elected and the NDA leading with a clear majority of 354 seats while the UPA suffered a blow managing to garner only 95 seats, as of 11:30 PM

Results 2019 Lok Sabha elections: 

In the southern state of Telangana, the fight for the 17 Lok Sabha seats was between the national parties BJP and Congress and the regional parties K. Chandrasekhar Rao's TRS and Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM resulting in a thumping victory for current Chief Minister KCR's party which won 9 seats while the NDA, UPA, and AIMIM won 4 seats, 3 seats, and 1 seat respectively.

Republic Double Exit polls projections:

Republic Media Network called  the result on Sunday projecting a TRS win in Bihar with country's biggest exit poll - the double exit poll in collaboration with the nation's biggest pollsters Jan Ki Baat and CVoter - which presented a projection including granular projections from each of the states and union territories.

In the state according to both the psephologists, TRS was predicted to sweep the state single-handedly by securing a majority, while Congress-led UPA, BJP-led NDA, and Owaisi's AIMIM was projected to secure one seat each. According to CVoter, TRS was projected to have maximum vote-share of 37.3%, followed by UPA at 31.1%. 

CVoter
Seat Share:

UPA-1
NDA-1
TRS-14
AIMIM-1

Vote share:

UPA- 31.1%
NDA- 12.8%
TRS- 37.3%
AIMIM- 2.8%
Others- 16%

Jan Ki Baat:

Seat share range:

UPA-0-1
NDA-1
TRS-14-15
AIMIM-1

Poll campaign and issues:

Major issues which plagued Telangana were the agrarian crisis - particularly in the Turmeric belt where farmers had blamed the ruling TRS government for not fulfilling upon their poll promise on setting up the Turmeric board and ensuring minimum support price for turmeric and red sorghum produce.

Unemployment which was a major issue had been addressed by Telangana government by rolling out its 'Nirudyoga Bruthi' scheme by announcing an unemployment allowance of Rs 3,016 per month to eligible unemployed youth and also setting up a centralised employment portal.
KCR had mainly centered his poll campaign based on the work he has done and also propagating himself as the leader of the 'Federal Front' to give the regional parties a voice at forming the new government. 

Key battles in the state:

Nizamabad (Telangana):  An outlier among the 543 constituencies going to polls in the 2019 elections, Nizamabad saw sitting MP K Kavitha, daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, square up against 179 farmers (aside from other politicians) who are contesting en masse. The 179 farmers entered the fray as a mark of protest, alleging that the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had failed to ensure Minimum Support Price for turmeric and red jowar (sorghum) produce and in getting the Turmeric Board established in Nizamabad. The polling necessitated the use of a record number of EVMs per polling booth, as per the EC.

Malkajgiri: TRS's Marri Rajasekhar Reddy who is the son-in-law of Medchal MP and health minister CH Malla Reddy faced Telangana Congress working president A Revanth Reddy and senior BJP leader and city president N Ramchander Rao for the country's largest constituency - Malkajgiri. While Reddy had a favourable advantage, Revanth Reddy - an ex-TRS member, who got defeated from Kodangal constituency last elections met all key leaders from non-TRS and non-BJP parties for support- taking a leaf of KCR's playbook.

Historical trend:

In both state Assembly polls, the TRS emerged victories expanding its seat share from 63  to 88 seats in 2018, while the Congress lost its hold from 21 to 19 seats. The BJP lost its foothold completely from winning 5 seats in 2014 to no seat in 2018.

While in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, TRS defeated its opponents gaining 11 seats while the Congress and other parties won 2 seats. The BJP and AIMIM won 1 seat each.  

Recent political developments:

In the state, talks of a 'Federal Front' took charge as Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao attempted to band together with the southern leaders to build a non-BJP and non-Congress front. 

KV Reddy was the richest candidate in the entire Phase -1 field of candidates from 91 seats, with declared assets exceeding Rs. 895 crore as per Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) Initiative and Nalla Prem Kumar became the candidate in Phase-1 with the least declared assets, just Rs.500.

Also, in Nizamabad in retaliation to sitting MP K Kavitha 178 farmers had jumped into the fray to support their demand for a remunerative price for turmeric and red sorghum and for setting up of a Turmeric Board based in Nizamabad which had necessitated the EC to provide 12 EVMs per poll booth to accommodate all 185 candidates.

On a national scale:

The political discourse of this election season ranged from cracks in coalition to astonishing communal and crass statements by leaders across parties, Azam Khan, Yogi Adityanath, Maneka Gandhi and others being struck down on by the Election Commission and others, like Sam Pitroda, Sadhvi Pragya and Kamal Haasan triggering mass outrage.

A number of Republic Media Network newsbreaks especially set the agenda for the polls, including PM Narendra Modi completing a full circle with his first and last election campaign interview with Republic Media Network. Alongside the sensational #MPsOnSale sting on sitting MPs who showed themselves willing to compromise the interests of those whom they claim to represent, the Operation Karz Maafi sting that exposed the falsehood in the Congress' farm loan-waiver promise, and numerous others.