BRS entry sets AP politics in flux

Marthi Subrahmanyam
Vijayawada

It seems political equations are changing rapidly in Andhra Pradesh as popular Kapu leader Thota Chandrasekhar Rao, who was in the Jana Sena Party till now, has been appointed the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) AP State unit president. Chandrasekhar Rao is a retired IAS officer. His appointment at a programme in Hyderabad by BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday comes as a big jolt to AP politics.

Interestingly, former minister Ravela Kishore Babu, BJP AP president Somu Veerraju’s close relative Chintala Parthasarathi, and TJ Prakash also joined the BRS. They were formally admitted into the party by Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao.

The joining of AP leaders in the BRS has led to a debate in political circles in AP. Interestingly, AP BJP State president Somu Veerraju’s close relative Parthsaradhi also joined the BRS creating an embarrassing situation for Somu Veerraju in AP.

According to the BRS sources, BRS chief and TS Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao had a five-hour discussion with Thota, Ravela and Parthasarathi.

Thota Chandrasekhar was in the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP), launched by film actor-turned-politician K Chiranjeevi and unsuccessfully contested for Lok Sabha from the Eluru constituency. Later, he joined the Jana Sena but he has never played an active role in the party. Though he is a native of Guntur, he has been living in Hyderabad for a long time.

Political analysts say that BRS chief KCR has chosen Thota Chandrasekhar Rao as the party’s AP State president as he belongs to the Kapu caste which has a large chunk of voters.

Sources said that Thota Chandrasekhar Rao did not have good contact with the lower cadre in the JSP.

The Kapu community people may not extend support to Thota. “He himself claims that he is a strong leader for the Kapu community but that does not reflect at the ground level. I do not understand why he has been appointed BRS AP unit president,” a Kapu community leader said.

Thota Chandrasekhar Rao has never participated in agitations directly or indirectly in the State anywhere. He did not participate in agitations carried out by the Kapu leaders either. He is into real estate and construction business in Hyderabad. An eight-acre site at Hitech city railway station has been mired in disputes for a long time, according to the Jana Sena sources.

Chandrasekhar Rao’s company has disputes with a company owned by a YSRCP leader. A Jana Sena leader alleged that Rao joined the BRS to get the eight-acre land dispute resolved. He claimed that he has the evidence in this regard. It is also learnt that the BRS leaders assured Thota of resolving the land issue through negotiations. At present, the land dispute is in the Supreme Court.

A senior JSP leader made it clear that Chandrasekhar Rao’s quitting is a loss to the party. “Though he is in JSP, he has never played an active role to strengthen the party,” he said.
Political analysts say that former minister Ravela Kishore Babu might be given the charge of BRS party affairs in Delhi. The BRS and the BJP are bitter rivals in the Telangana State.