Major political parties in the State appear to have succeeded in tackling the problem of rebels, who could upset the chances of the official nominees, in the forthcoming elections to the Legislative Assembly.
The BRS, the Congress and the BJP leaderships have by and large ensured withdrawal of nominations by rebels, going by the final list of valid nominations released by the State election authority, the Chief Electoral Officer, on Thursday. Though there are several constituencies with more than 20 candidates in the fray, independents constitute a major chunk of them and votes cast for them could become crucial in few constituencies where close contests are expected.
As a result, the election is expected to see two-cornered contests between the BRS and the main Opposition Congress in several constituencies. While three-cornered contests are likely with the BJP joining the race in some constituencies in the GHMC limits and other urban centres where it has sizeable presence. The votes of the Left parties in the constituencies, where they did not field their nominees and the way the TDP sympathisers are likely to tilt, are also likely to have an impact on the elections.
