Punters fish in poll waters Betting thrives over parties prospects

​Hyderabad: With just one week left for Assembly elections in Telangana, betting market has become active in many assembly constituencies where prominent leaders are testing the poll waters on December 7. Bookies are putting huge amounts of money on the table for the majority margin to be secured by TRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao and the party leaders KT Rama Rao and T Harish Rao. The results will be declared on December 11. The hype created on the winning prospects of Congress candidate V Pratap Reddy, who is pitted against KCR from Gajwel assembly constituency for the second consecutive time, is attracting punters to bet crores of rupees on the poll outcome. 

Some predicted KCR will secure nearly one lakh majority as against 20,000 he got in 2014 elections with the development mantra. The rival group sees Reddy giving tough fight to the TRS chief and the majority is likely to be modest this time. The betting gangs are also speculating Harish Rao and KTR will win with massive majority. Harish won the last elections with a margin of more than 90,000 votes and KTR trounced his rival by nearly 20,000 votes. 

Sources said that Telangana Congress leaders A Revanth Reddy (Kodangal), Komatireddy brothers – Venkat Reddy (Nalgonda) and Rajagopal Reddy (Munugodu) and DK Aruna (Gadwal) and from TRS - D Nagendar (Khairatabad), T Srinivas Yadav (Sanathnagar) and BJP leader G Kishan Reddy contesting from Amberpet assembly segments are among the important leaders chosen by the bookies on their winning prospects.

With TDP making a comeback with Praja Front in Telangana, betting gangs from Andhra Pradesh plunged into the scene and predict winning prospects for the TDP contestants. As a Praja Front partner, the TDP fielded candidates in 13 assembly segments. The Seemdandhra populace is dominant in Kukatpally assembly segment from where the departed TDP leader N Harikrishna’s daughter and the party candidate Suhasini is contesting the elections is the most favorite segment for the punters. 

Nearly 60 per cent of them favoured Suhasini. The other segments in old district of Khammam - Sattupally, Madhira, Paleru, Kothagudem and Khammam and Serilingampally and Quthbullapur in the Greater Hyderabad assembly constituencies are also first choice of the punters.

In all, sources said that the betting gangs favoured TRS as the best bet after KCR launched intensified poll campaign by holding public meetings in all constituencies. They predicted TRS has 60 per cent chances of coming back to power. The Praja Front betting prospects are waning as the front partners do not have charismatic leader to match that of KCR’s.