Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu seems to have made the battle for Telangana tough for the ruling TRS.

On the day of dissolving the state assembly, TRS chief and CM K Chandrashekar Rao was confident of a landslide victory with 100-plus seats. He had even termed the elections a mere formality. TRS leaders and cadre were jubilant. But, as voting day approaches, things are changing on the ground, indicating that it is not going to be a cakewalk for the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS).

Chandrababu Naidu has played a key role in the formation of ‘Prajakutami’ or grand alliance to take on the TRS. After Naidu met Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, political equations have been changing in favor of the Congress-led and TDP-backed alliance. Naidu did not bargain for more seats for the TDP with the sole intention of teaching a lesson to his old nemesis KCR. Naidu instead is concentrating on winning maximum seats. The TDP, which won 15 seats in 2014 elections, agreed to contest on just 14 and is in contention in 13 of them.

The TDP has sacrificed seats like Patancheru and Huzurabad where it could have put up a good fight. “Our alliance should win. Don’t force adjustments and spoil the spirit of ‘Prajakutami’. We should concentrate on the areas where we are strong,” Naidu has told TDP leaders in Telangana.

In Kukatpally near Hyderabad, Naidu has played sympathy card. He has given the TDP ticket to Nandamuri Suhasini, the granddaughter of NTR and daughter of his brother-in-law Nandamuri Hari Krishna who died in a road accident recently.

In Kukatpally, majority voters are migrants from Andhra Pradesh and are sympathetic towards NTR and Hari Krishna. Naidu believes this factor plays a key role in ensuring a win for his party.

“The Congress and TDP alliance has some negative impact in the northern part of Telangana. But it will work when it comes to entire Telangana. It will have a positive impact in areas like outskirts of Hyderabad and districts like Khammam and Mahabubnagar,” a political analyst said.