Fear of cross-voting, shift of minority votes haunts BRS

Hyderabad: The BRS leaders fear cross-voting in many Lok Sabha constituencies and minority voters did not vote for the party in several segments, after analysing the election process in districts. They found different reasons which may impact results.

According to a senior leader, there were reports of cross-voting in segments where the Congress and BJP were strong. He said in constituencies like Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Mahbubnagar, Chevella and Malkajgiri the traditional party voters shifted to the others as per information they got from the local cadre. The party feels Medak and Secunderabad are best bet for the party; there are chances in Mahabubabad LS segment, party leaders opined.

They felt that the minority votes were not consolidated in their favour in districts. A BRS leader said the call given by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi to vote for the Congress also had an impact on the voting pattern of the minorities. A BRS city leader said the Secunderabad LS segment had more than a lakh minority votes; one word from Owaisi would have helped the BRS win, but Owaisi had openly asked Muslims to vote for the fat man (Danam Nagender), which has made the contest close.

The BRS had pinned hopes on the minority vote bank as party chief K Chandrashekar Rao reminded Muslim voters that the party was secular and cautioned the community that voting for the Congress would benefit BJP. Party leaders now are unable to gauge where the community had voted. They felt that minority votes were transferred to the Congress in segments like Secunderabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Nalgonda.

The BRS working president KT Rama Rao said the party had fought BJP in some segments and with Congress in some. He claimed that despite all efforts by the BJP and Congress to stop it, the BRS was going to win more seats across the State. He said regional parties would become a decisive force in the country. Rao alleged that both the national parties fight in Delhi, but collude in the State. “The Congress fielded dummy candidates in Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Secunderabad and Malkajgiri,” he alleged. However, he said KCR’s bus yatra had changed the picture in Telangana.