Telangana elections 2018: Important facts about the state

Bengaluru, Dec 6: The Telangana Legislative Assembly election is scheduled to be held in Telangana on 7 December 2018 and the result will be out on 11 December 2018.

The incumbent Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Indian National Congress, Telangana Jana Samithi, and Telugu Desam Party are considered to be the main contestants in the election. Four opposition parties in the state, the INC, the TJS, the TDP and the CPI have announced the formation of a 'MahaKootami' (Grand Alliance), with an objective of defeating the ruling TRS in the elections.

Around 2,61,36,776 voters cast their franchise in 32,574 polling stations across the state.

Telangana, the 12th largest state, is situated on the centre-south stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is also the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of 112,077 km2 (43,273 sq mi) and 35,193,978 residents as per 2011 census. Urban population constitutes 1.36 Crore and rural population is 2.13 Crore

As per 2011 census, the total literacy rate is 66.54 % and sex ratio is 988 female per 1000 males. As far the economy is concerned, the state GDP is (2018-19) ₹8.43 lakh crore.

In the 2014 elections, TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samithi) emerged victorious with 63 Assembly seats and 11 out of 17 Lok Sabha seats. Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao took the oath as the first Chief Minister of Telangana on June 2, 2014. Out of 119, 88 were General Category candidates, 19 SC and 12 ST candidates.

Election issues:

TRS president and caretaker CM K Chandrasekhar Rao went for early polls by dissolving the assembly on September 6. The TRS has been targeting the proposed Congress-led alliance comprising Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS), seeking to invoke the Telangana sentiment.

KCR's speeches are incomplete without reference to the role he and his party played in the movement for separate Telangana State.

On the other hand, the Congress-TDP alliance counter TRS by highlighting farmers suicide. Congress president Rahul Gandhi made frequent references to 4,500 farmers suicides during the TRS rule for not getting the MSP.

Employment is another area of political debate during the campaign. Fearing the backlash, KCR promised monthly unemployment allowance of Rs 3016 if he returns to power.

For the alliance, the domination of KCR family in the Government and the party was another talking point. Rahul Gandhi also questioned how assets of KCR's son jumped by 400 per cent in the last four years.