SNCN ACHARYULU
Hyderabad
The ED, the Income Tax Department and the CBI have become a major hurdle for politicians in both Telugu states in joining the BRS. This is particularly true in Andhra Pradesh where the BRS is hoping to attract senior politicians.
In both Telugu states almost every senior politician has some business. BRS president Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has declared war against the BJP at the national level.
It is a known fact that the Centre is harassing BRS leaders and the family of KCR by using Central agencies to raid them. The ED, the IT Department and the CBI have raided several BRS leaders and sympathisers.
Central investigation agencies did not spare even BRS ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLC K. Kavitha, the daughter of KCR. In these circumstances in Andhra Pradesh senior politicians are thinking twice about joining the BRS.
Sources said that BRS leaders are holding talks with dissidents in the YSR Congress, the TDP and the Jana Sena. It is interesting to note that all new leaders who have joined the BRS in Andhra Pradesh are all former bureaucrats turned politicians.
KCR has some close friends in the TDP. Keeping this in view, BRS leaders are trying to bag former TDP ministers TDP. But AP politicians think that if they join the BRS the Centre may harass them using its investigation agencies.
Another thing is that BRS president KCR has appointed former bureaucrat Thota Chandrasekhar as AP unit president. If any senior leader from AP joins the BRS he has to work under this former bureaucrat who is a junior politician. This also has become another problem for them.
There is an opinion in BRS circles that if KCR had not appointed the AP unit president some senior politicians would have shown interest in joining the BRS in AP.
They feel that KCR was hasty in appointing the AP BRS president.
KCR might have taken the decision to appoint Thota Chandrasekhar as AP president in a hurry to launch party programmes in AP and might not have thought about its implications.
In Telangana also some politicians from other political parties are reportedly in a dilemma on whether to join the BRS or not as they know the consequences of joining the BRS.
Moreover, there are strong speculations that the BJP will retain power in the next LS general elections too. If there were any doubts about the BJP retaining power in the next general elections the situation may have been different.
If politicians had any hope that a new government would come to power at the Centre after the next general elections they may have shown interest in joining the BRS. They would have thought that even though they are facing problems now after the new Central government takes over they can be resolved. But that situation does not exist at the national level.
However, political observers are keen to know the senior AP politicians going who are likely to join the BRS. If any politician wants to join the BRS they must be ready to face Central investigation agencies, a senior politician said.
