The Manakondur (SC) Assembly Constituency in the undivided Karimnagar district, which has 202,497 total voters, appears to be swinging the Congress way for the December 7 assembly polls. Sitting TRS MLA Rasamayi Balakishan has been in the news in recent times for making derogatory comments against the party workers while campaigning in the constituency. Also, the MLA's reputation for not being approachable to the public and involvement in several controversies in his tenure add weight to the anti-TRS mood in Manakondur.

Popular for his contribution to the Telangana agitation as a folk singer, Balakishan was elected to power with a majority of 46,922 in the context of formation of Telangana in 2014, over former Congress MLA Arepalli Mohan. As things stand, Arepalli Mohan is said to have a clear edge over the TRS candidate by the analysts. BJP's Gaddam Nagaraju is also in contention this time around.

The Huzurabad Assembly Constituency in the undivided Karimnagar district has been considered a TRS stronghold ever since senior TRS leader Etela Rajender was elected in 2009. In the 2010 bye-election, the caretaker Finance minister bettered his majority from 15,035 to 79,227. However, Rajender's majority dipped to 57,037 in the previous election.

It should be said that the lack of a strong and reliable candidate from the opposition parties will be TRS advantage in Huzurabad. Congress candidate V Krishnamohan Rao in 2009, TDP's M.Damodar Reddy in 2010 and senior Congress leader K.Sudershan Reddy in 2014 failed to topple Rajender in the constituency.

In the upcoming elections, the Congress fielded Padi Kaushik Reddy, a close relative of TPCC Chief Uttam Kumar Reddy.

The Husnabad Assembly Constituency in the undivided Karimnagar district is a personal favourite of TRS Chief KCR for party activities, thanks to his affiliation with senior TRS leader and former Rajya Sabha member Vodithela Lakshmikantha Rao, whose son, Vodithela Satish Kumar represented the constituency in the recently dissolved House.

It may be recalled that KCR held a public meeting in Husnabad on September 7, the day after he dissolved the legislative assembly. The TRS's first stage of poll campaign was kicked off from the constituency.

The Congress-led grand alliance chose to field CPI leader Chada Venkat Reddy opposite Satish Babu. Congress leader Allireddy Praveen Reddy defeated Lakshmikantha Rao in 2009 but failed to defeat Satish Kumar in 2014.

Watch this space for more updates on Telangana assembly elections 2018.

Also Read: It’s Season Of Political Tourists In Telangana: KTR