In the upcoming 2023 General Elections for the Telangana State legislature, women voters are expected to play a crucial role. They are likely to be decisive in 76 out of the 119 Assembly constituencies. The majority of women voters can be found in 26 out of the 33 districts in the State. Prominent constituencies like Gajwel, Kodangal, Sircilla, Siddipet, Huzurnagar, Khammam, Kamareddy, and Huzurabad are witnessing contests with top leaders from major political parties. These leaders are vying for the support of women voters by including promises of benefits and incentives targeted at them in their election manifestos.
For example, in Gajwel, where the incumbent MLA and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is facing off against the BJP candidate Eatala Rajender, there are 1,31,774 male voters and 1,33,855 female voters. In Kamareddy, Chief Minister KCR is competing against Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Revanth Reddy, with 1,18,718 male voters and 1,27,080 female voters.
In another significant constituency, Huzurabad, the incumbent MLA Etala Rajender is competing against Kaushik Reddy from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). This constituency has 1,19,676 male voters and 1,24,833 female voters. In Huzurnagar constituency, former TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy is running for election against S Saidireddy from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), with 1,18,664 male voters and 1,24,030 female voters.
The ruling political party has introduced schemes like the KCR Kit and Kalyan Laxmi to benefit women. The opposition Congress party has promised women a monthly financial benefit of 2,500 rupees, affordable gas cylinders for 500 rupees, and free bus travel as part of its six guarantees. These competing promises and policies will shape the preferences of female voters and impact the election’s outcome.
