As the deadline expires for candidates to withdraw their nominations for the Telangana Assembly election, a better picture has emerged of the serious candidates fielded by major political parties, winnowed from the chaff of non-serious and independent candidates. It is now clear that Telangana is likely to see a three-cornered contest in a third of its constituencies, while the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) and the Congress seem to be in a direct fight in the rest, despite the presence of other national parties.
The ruling BRS is contesting in all 119 seats while the Congress is in the fight in 118 seats, leaving the Kothagudem seat for its alliance partner, the Communist Party of India (CPI). The BJP has fielded candidates in 111 constituencies, leaving the other nine seats for its alliance partner, the Jana Sena Party (JSP) led by film star Pawan Kalyan. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is contesting 107 seats and the CPI (Marxist) is contesting 19 seats.
