Entry of smaller parties may spice up Assembly elections

Hyderabad: With the announcement of Jana Sena Chief Pawan Kalyan of contesting elections in Telangana too, the State is going to witness a multi-cornered contest with several parties wanting to try their luck.

Apart from the major parties like TRS, AIMIM, BJP and Congress, the new entrants like YSR Telangana Party of Sharmila and Praja Shanti party of KA Paul are likely to throw an interesting contest. The State had until now seen a three cornered contest in the elections where the ruling party was way on the top and the two major opposition parties at distant bottom.

The ruling party in the State has the strength of over 100 in the 119-member Telangana Assembly.

However, in recent times, the Opposition parties have been trying to gain strength by winning elections. While the BJP has managed to win some bye elections and improved performance in the civic elections in Hyderabad, the Congress party is enthusiastic with its Warangal Declaration.

Now, the smaller parties are also trying their luck in the State politics. During his visit to Nalgonda district, the Jana Sena Chief Pawan Kalyan said that his party will be contesting at least 20 per cent seats in the next election in Telangana. He claimed that his party has a fan base of 5,000 to 6,000 in every constituency in Telangana, which can affect the prospects of main parties.

YS Sharmila is already trying to reach out to the people through her Padayatra and now KA Paul has also announced his party would be contesting the elections. He is known for his social service in the State and also said to be having a good number of followers. Along with these, the two Left parties like CPI and CPM would also be fighting to get their account opened. There is a talk that the AIMIM is also trying to look for growth by contesting more seats.

According to the political analysts, the multi-cornered contest would lead to meagre margins of victories in the elections. People would have a bigger range of options while they go out to vote. These smaller parties may not have capability to change the total election scenario but may impact results in some constituencies, said a political analyst.