Hyderabad: Voting is underway in 17 Lok Sabha constituencies across Telangana. Stakes are high for the three major political parties of the state – the Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – which had last tested their political fortunes in the assembly elections in November 2023.Though it appears to be a triangular fight, the real fight is expected to be between the Congress and the BJP in most constituencies, and the BRS is likely to show its strength in a couple of constituencies.’After losing to the Congress in the assembly polls after being in power for ten years, the BRS’s morale has been at its lowest. From the point of view of state politics, this election is mainly about whether the BRS can revive its fortunes and stay relevant in Telangana.Consequently, this election will again redraw the political map, as one of the three parties is expected to lose its foothold in the state.A three-way fightFresh from the victory in assembly polls, the Congress is brimming with optimism and has set itself an ambitious target of winning 14 seats. With resources and administrative machinery at its disposal, the party has an upper hand over its rivals.It continues to remain confident of maximising its gains in the southern Telangana districts of Mahabubnagar, Khammam and Nalgonda, which are considered its strongholds.Constituencies in and around Hyderabad city pose a challenge for the Congress, as it does not have even a single MLA of its own – the BRS, together with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), swept the Greater Hyderabad region in the assembly election.Illustration: Pariplab ChakrabortyIn the north Telangana districts of Adilabad, Khammam and Nizamabad, the ruling party is facing a tough challenge from the BJP, as the saffron party has managed to gain strength in the last few years at the cost of the Congress and the BRS.The BJP has, to some extent, managed to polarise the electorate in this part of Telangana.The sharpening of criticism by the BRS and BJP that the Congress government headed by Revanth Reddy has failed to implement the ‘six guarantees’ the party had promised in the run-up to the assembly polls could also work against it.The Congress had promised to roll out its six guarantees within 100 days of coming to power.Although not one of its six guarantees, the Congress had also promised to waive off Rs 2 lakh worth of crop loans taken by farmers immediately upon taking the reins, but it has not done this yet. Some months before the election, Reddy confidently asked farmers to take crop loans worth Rs 2 lakh saying his would-be-government would waive them off immediately.Now Reddy has sworn to god his government will implement the waiver in one go (rather than in instalments) before August 15 this year, and the BRS’s attack on the government over the issue came to a head with senior party leader T. Harish Rao offering to resign if the Congress were to go through with its promise.The two parties have also traded barbs over the withering of crops ahead of this Rabi harvest season due to either lack of irrigation or due to inclement weather, with the Congress blaming it on the previous year’s monsoon and the BRS on the mismanagement by the government.Meanwhile, Reddy and the Telangana Congress have echoed the rhetoric of the party’s national leadership saying the BJP intends to change the constitution and undermine reservations in the event that its NDA bloc wins over 400 seats in parliament. Some observers have said that the narrative around reservations has come to the fore in Telangana as an electoral issue.On the other hand, the BJP has been rather open about doing away with one type of reservation: the 4% reservation for some sections of Muslims – who are classified as a type of OBC in the state – in education and jobs in the state.Union home minister Amit Shah himself has time and again voiced the BJP’s desire to get rid of the ‘Muslim’ quota by distributing it among the state’s SCs, STs and OBCs.This has reportedly created enough unease among the state’s Muslim community that it has spurred a consolidation of their votes that could alter expected outcomes in the Lok Sabha elections, The Hindu has reported.It also reported that while the Muslim vote was split between the Congress and the BRS in the assembly elections in some parts of the state, there “seems to be a clear consolidation of the Muslim vote bank in favour of the Congress” this year as a vote for the BRS is being perceived as helping the BJP in some way.Meanwhile, the BRS has been trying to convince the electorate that only it remains truly committed to the cause of Telangana as a party that had spearheaded the statehood movement in contrast to the national parties. Despite hitting the campaign trail late, former chief minister and BRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao has been drawing huge crowds. It is to be seen whether this can translate into votes for the BRS.The BJP’s poll narrative in Telangana has been to convince the electorate that their votes are directly for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and individual candidates should not be considered. The party is in a tough fight with the BRS for second spot and it hopes to maximise its gains in northern Telangana.