All eyes are on Telangana as the state goes to polls on Thursday in what promises to be a closely fought election. The ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party, led by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR), is facing a stiff challenge from the Revanth Reddy-led Congress, which is hoping to register it’s first election victory in the state it created. The BJP is also trying its luck and hoping for the lotus to bloom in the south Indian state.

After a decade in the wilderness, Congress looks to have managed to gain some momentum in Telangana with a fierce election campaign led by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. Revanth Reddy is the face of the Congress party in the state.

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The BRS, which came to power in 2014, is banking on its record of development and welfare schemes to retain power. KCR, a populist leader, is also hoping to cash in on his image as a strong and decisive leader.

The Congress, on the other hand, is hoping to capitalize on the growing discontent with the BRS government. The party has announced a lot gaurantees ranging from Rs 15,000 annual aid to farmers and a legislation for the welfare of gig workers, auto-rickshaw drivers and sanitation workers.

The BJP has put its bet on the caste issue and promised to make a Chief Minister from the OBC community if voted to power.

The outcome of the election will have a huge bearing for Telangana and national politics. A BRS victory will consolidate KCR’s position as a powerful regional leader and probably the first south Indian leader to win three consecutive terms.

A Congress victory will signal a resurgence of the grand old party in South India, while a BJP breakthrough would mark the saffron party’s first major electoral success in the south.

The BJP has never governed any South Indian state except for Karnataka, which it lost to the Congress early this year.

The voting for the 119-member Telangana Legislative Assembly will start at 7 am and end at 6 pm in the evening. The counting of the votes will be held on December 3 and results will also be announced on the same day.