Telangana’s coal belt swings towards Congress

The CPI, which contested the lone constituency of Kothagudem, the headquarters of Singareni Collieries, as part of the electoral alliance with the Congress, won the seat after two terms

Hyderabad: The BRS suffered a major setback in the coal-belt constituencies. Despite the strong presence of its affiliated trade union, the Telangana Boggu Ghani Karmika Sangham (TBKS) in the collieries, the party could win only one of the 11 coal belt assembly seats, conceding nine to the Congress.

The CPI, which contested the lone constituency of Kothagudem, the headquarters of Singareni Collieries, as part of the electoral alliance with the Congress, won the seat after two terms.

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The BRS government had extended all benefits due to the coal workers in a generous manner, even if it meant going an extra mile on its part, but the special gesture did not pay off. The joint campaign of AITUC and the INTUC in favour of their parental organisations helped the Congress and CPI to dent the edge enjoyed by the BRS in the coal belt.

Some 42,000 coal workers, who are part of the SCCL workforce, and over 60,000 retired miners and workers make a predominant presence in 11 coal belt constituencies. The lone BRS winner was Kova Lakshmi in Asifabad.

The segments of Sathupalli, Yellandu, Pinapaka, Bhupalpally, Manthani, Peddapalli, Bellampalli, Mancherial, Ramagudam and Chennur were bagged by the Congress.

Extending support to the trade unions, the BRS government had opposed the Centre’s moves for privatisation of coal blocks. It had extended interest free housing loans upto Rs 10 lakh each. It had also given new jobs to over 19000 youths in the SCCL during the last nine and half years. The SCCL has also paid a bonus of Rs.700 crore to the coal workers this year.