SNCN ACHARYULU
Hyderabad
Speaking about his party’s chances in the next Assembly elections, BRS President Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said, “We will win again. I have no doubts about it.”
If the BRS wins the Assembly elections as KCR said it will be only due to his image and not due to sitting BRS MLAs.
The CM is not happy with the performance of most BRS MLAs. The surveys commissioned by KCR reportedly revealed that his government enjoys a good image, but most BRS MLAs do not have a good image.
If BRS candidates win in the next Assembly elections that would be purely due to KCR’s image. In fact, KCR is also not happy with many sitting BRS MLAs. He thinks that BRS MLAs failed in taking to the people the good things done by the BRS government and the welfare schemes being implemented by the government.
In many constituencies, people know about the schemes through which they are getting benefits but they don’t know about the other welfare schemes being implemented by the BRS government. KCR openly told BRS MLAs that they should maintain good public relations.
During the 2014 Assembly elections, the BRS won by taking credit for achieving statehood for Telangana. In the 2018 Assembly elections again the BRS won because of the strategic mistakes of the Congress. The Congress entered into an electoral alliance with the Congress named ‘Mahakutami.’
This proved advantageous to the BRS and it ignited the Telangana sentiment once again. The BRS branded TDP supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu as an enemy of Telangana and succeeded in creating this opinion in the minds of the Telangana people.
But now the Telangana sentiment may not work as the BRS has been in power for 10 years. Being in power continuously for two terms will certainly create some anti-incumbency. At the same time, most BRS MLAs have won two times continuously and they have a bad image among the public.
If these two angles are clubbed together there is danger for the BRS and it has to overcome this using KCR’s image.
Only a few BRS MLAs meet people regularly in their constituencies. Of late, many BRS MLAs have faced allegations from the public. Some of them are facing charges of corruption, land grabbing, misbehaviour with women and others.
It may not be possible for the BRS leadership to change a majority of sitting BRS MLAs but definitely it will change some MLAs who have a massive negative image among the public.
The coming Telangana Assembly elections will be a litmus test for KCR’s image.
