Given its history, Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat will be battle of wits

HYDERABAD: An interesting electoral battle is on the cards in Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency, what with almost every major political party making it a prestige point to win the seat.
As much as the seat is important for the sitting TRS to retain it, the ensuing polls on April 11 will be a battle of wits with other political parties wanting to wrest it from TRS.
TRS president, K Chandrasekhar Rao, had won the Karimnagar seat thrice in interesting circumstances. After having won the seat in 2004, he quit only to demonstrate that there was a public demand for a separate Telangana state. In the by-election in 2006, he won again. KCR won again in 2008 after he quit his seat only to drive home the point that a vote for him meant a vote for the cause of Telangana, and that the Union government should give in to the demand for a separate Telangana state. In the 2014 elections, B Vinod Kumar of the TRS got elected from the constituency.
The Congress, however, is gung-ho about the elections and the seat, and has announced the candidature of its former MP, Ponnam Prabhakar. Ponnam had won the seat in 2009 despite the TRS considering Karimnagar LS seat to be its pocket borough. He, however, lost in the subsequent elections.
In the recently held assembly polls in December 2018, Ponnam had contested from Karimnagar assembly seat but lost. The TPCC working president, will now be in the fray for the LS seat.
Considering that it has a foothold in Karimnagar, the BJP will put up its candidate. In the past, Ch Vidyasagar Rao had won the seat for the BJP twice. However, after he lost in 2014, and the BJP came to power at the Centre, Vidyasagar Rao was appointed governor of Maharashtra.
Telugu Desam Party, too, has held the Karimnagar seat in the past. TDP’s L Ramana won the elections in 1996 from here. In this backdrop, Karimnagar is set for a keen contest. The outcome of the December 2018 assembly polls gives an insight as to where TRS stands in terms of support.
In all the seven assembly constituencies which fall under the Karimnagar LS seat, TRS candidate emerged winners. TRS working president KT Rama Rao got re-elected from Sircilla constituency. Others who won include, G Kamalakar from Karimnagar, Ravi Shankar Sunke from Choppadandi, Ch Ramesh from Vemulawada, Rasamayi Balakishan from Manakondur, E Rajendar from Huzurabad, and V Satish Kumar from Husnabad.