"We are confident of winning 95 to 105 seats," K Chandrashekar Rao said.
The ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) today announced the first list of candidates, months ahead of the assembly polls in Telangana later this year. There have been just seven changes, and most sitting MLAs have been retained.
115 of the total 119 candidates were announced today. Names for Narsapur, Nampally, Goshamahal, and Jangaon assembly constituencies are yet to be announced.
"We are confident of winning 95 to 105 seats," K Chandrashekar Rao, who is looking to score a hat-trick in the southern state, said while releasing the names for 119 constituencies.
The Chief Minister, who represents the Gajwel constituency in the state assembly, will contest from one more seat this time -- Kamareddy. Gampa Govardhan of the BRS has won the election from Kamareddy for four consecutive terms -- 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2018.
KCR asserted that the BRS's friendship with Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM will continue.
The move is being seen as KCR trying to get the first mover's advantage. In the 2018 state elections, he surprised opponents by advancing the polls.
Congress, the main opposition party in the state, has just begun the exercise of candidate selection. The party has invited applications from August 18 to 25.
KCR is banking on a big push to social welfare schemes. His party has attacked the Congress, saying, if voted to power, they would withdraw the scheme which provides free power to farmers.
In the last elections, four opposition parties who were arch rivals -- Congress, Telangana Jana Samithi, Telugu Desam Party, and CPI -- formed 'Maha Kootami' (Grand Alliance) to defeat incumbent Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now BRS) but failed to get majority.
KCR went for early elections in 2018 after resigning nine months before the completion of his term. Since no other party had a majority, the house was dissolved by the governor and general elections were announced. In the last election, TRS won 88 seats, Congress 19, AIMIM 7, and TDP 2. BJP also won one seat.