KCR's party TRS races ahead in Telangana State

Fate of K Chandrasekhar Rao’s party Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) will be decided today as the counting of votes begin in 119 seats of the Telangana Assembly.

Though most exit polls have forecast an easy win for the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, some predicted a keen contest between it and the Congress-led "Praja Katumi", which also comprises the TDP, CPI and the newly formed Telangana Jana Samithi.

Other parties in the contention are the AIMIM and the BJP.

The AIMIM, which Chandrasekhar Rao called a "friendly party" during the election campaign, meanwhile, said it will stand by the TRS leader.

A party or a coalition needs to win 60 seats in the 119-member Telangana Assembly.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made by the Election Commission at all counting centres.

In



its election manifesto, TRS claimed that its development-first agenda would help it retain power in the state.

Telangana Assembly election was held on December 7 after K Chandrasekhar Rao dissolved the government almost eight months before its expiry.

A total of 1,821 candidates contested the Telangana Assembly election 2018. Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive campaigns across the state to woo voters.

This was the first election to Telangana Assembly after a separate state was carved out from Andhra Pradesh in 2014. Andhra Pradesh was not yet divided when the last assembly election were held.

After division, the Telangana Assembly got 119 seats, 63 of which belonged to the TRS followed by 21 of the Congress and 15 of the TDP.