Close contest on cards in Telangana in local, LS polls

A keen contest is on the cards in Telangana region during the upcoming local body polls in Andhra Pradesh and subsequent general elections as four national parties-- ruling Congress, BJP, CPI and BSP -- and three major regional outfits - TDP, TRS and YSR Congress - would be in the fray.
None of these parties is opposed to the separate statehood sentiment prevailing in the region, though TRS, which is formed to achieve the Telangana state, accuses the Congress and TDP of being ambivalent on the demand.
There are 17 Lok Sabha and 119 Assembly constituencies in Telangana region, while the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh together have 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats. The local body polls are likely to be held in July-August this year.

Union Minister Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which supports the separate statehood demand, has recently sought to enter the fray. The Jat strongman from western Uttar Pradesh, who addressed a public meeting here last week in support of the Telangana demand, announced that his party would contest the local body elections as well as the 2014 polls.
The TRS, the political face of the separate statehood agitation, asserts that Telangana people can get the separate statehood "by dictating terms to the Centre" if the party gets 100 Assembly and about 15 Lok Sabha seats.
BJP, which is in the forefront of the separate Telangana agitation, argues that it is better to vote for a national party to achieve the separate state instead of relying on a sub-regional party.