 "Telangana")
Amid expectations of a clean sweep by the ruling TRS, the BJP pulled off surprise wins in Telangana, winning four Lok Sabha seats.
Close on the heels of its spectacular victory in the assembly elections in December last, TRS was widely expected to win at least 13-14 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats.
TRS had kicked off its campaign for the parliament elections, declaring that it aims to win 16 seats (leaving Hyderabad to ally AIMIM) to play a key role at the Centre.
It had also predicted that neither the NDA nor UPA would get a majority on its own.
BJP nominees emerged victorious in Adilabad (neighbouring Maharashtra), Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituencies Thursday.
What makes BJP's win more surprising is the party had lost security deposits in more than 100 out of the total 119 segments in the Assembly polls in December last year.
BJP's win in Secunderabad did not come as a surprise as it is represented by the party (former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya) in the outgoing Lok Sabha.
BJP candidate in Adilabad Soyam Bapu Rao had joined the party just ahead of Lok Sabha elections and Adilabad is not a known party stronghold.
BJP nominee in Karimnagar Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who lost the Telangana Assembly polls, is known for his strong Hindutva moorings.
Sanjay Kumar's Congress rival Ponnam Prabhakar, who is a working president of the Congress in Telangana, claimed that certain comments of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao made at Karimnagar on Hindus led to BJP's win.
Karimnagar was earlier represented in the Lok Sabha by Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao.
The biggest morale booster for BJP, however, came from Nizamabad, where its nominee Aravind Dharmapuri defeated Chief Minister Rao's daughter and sitting TRS MP K Kavitha.
"It appears that the Modi wave in the country is reflected here. Some kind of polarisation is also possible (in Telangana)," political analyst Telakapalli Ravi told PTI.
It appears that BJP's "hyper-nationalism and aggressive Hindutva" also have had some impact, he said.
BJP fought the Lok Sabha seats in Telangana without any alliances.
A jubilant state BJP president K Laxman hailed the party's wins in Adilabad, Karimnagar, Secunderabad and Nizamabad.
"There is a massive response in Telangana. First time in the political history of Telangana for BJP, we are winning four Lok Sabha seats on our own and not less than 19 per cent votes. I feel proud as BJP's president," he said.
