Strategic moves of the principal parties in Telangana State are generating political heat as the elections for the TS Assembly are fast approaching. The ruling Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) headed by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) appears to be moving pawns to tackle the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, which are breathing down KCR’s neck. Political circles believe that BRS (previously TRS) is still a force to reckon with at the regional level, though it has not yet expanded its base as a rechristened national party.
Telangana statehood was granted by then UPA government at Centre headed by the Congress and the bill concerned was supported by then principal opposition BJP. Now the positions of these two principal political parties have changed. Despite having only two members in the Lok Sabha, TRS could successfully champion the cause of Telangana statehood. Prior to the formation of Andhra Pradesh — the first linguistic state created in independent India on 1st November, 1956 — there was Hyderabad State (former princely state of Nizams) comprising three regions with three different languages (Telugu, Marathi & Kannada) that existed for four years (1952-56) under the chief ministership of Dr. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao. TRS’ leadership went on even to criticise Dr. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao for agreeing for the disintegration of the erstwhile Hyderabad state.
KCR cleverly avoided simultaneous polls for the Assembly and Lok Sabha and facilitated early polls for T-Assembly. By not opposing KCR’s plan for early polls, the BJP lost several seats in the Assembly, considering it bagged four Lok Sabha constituencies under which 28 Assembly segments could see the dominance of BJP. The BJP could win only one Assembly seat Gosha Mahal (Maharaj Gunj earlier) in the Old City of Hyderabad and bagged four LS seats in the General Election held four months later. Had there been simultaneous polls in T-state, the BJP would have won at least 10-15 Assembly seats, going by the ‘Modi wave’ that swept the LS polls. It was late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi who had created history in Indian electoral politics by winning 400+ seats in 1984 due to the strong sympathy wave that worked in his favour in the backdrop of the assassination of his mother & late prime minister Indira Gandhi.
After after the Dubbak Assembly bypoll in the combined Medak district where BJP emerged victorious with a slight margin, KCR indirectly influenced the Congress to extend a helping hand for the TRS to win the Huzurabad seat. Against all odds, the BJP had the last laugh at Huzurabad. But the same strategy of TRS worked out in the bypolls of Huzur Nagar in the combined Nalgonda district. Congress’ sitting seat was bagged by TRS as the BJP remained runner-up in that electoral fray. The Congress’ landslide victory in the Karnataka Assembly elections has boosted Rahul Gandhi’s image as a viable leader, particularly following the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the way he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha. Rahul Gandhi has expressed his confidence of winning the forthcoming elections of Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh etc.
At this crucial juncture, with an ascendant Congress, KCR, with a view to deal a body blow to the grand old party, is reportedly joining hands with BJP. Now the Congress will be the common political enemy for both BRS and BJP.
No wonder, IT Minister KT Rama Rao commented that it was not fair on the part of opposition parties to have an agenda of defeating one person (Modi). BJP is compelled to scuttle the chances of the Congress; for, a victory for the Congress in Telangana may be detrimental to the saffron party’s interests at the national level, given the BJP’s poor show in Karnataka.
Although BRS is eyeing a hat-trick win in Telangana, the party faces anti-incumbency factor that might influence the electorate. The moot point is: Will people of Telangana offer the Congress party a chance to rule Telangana? Or will the BRS turn the tide in this election? In any case, the outcome of the forthcoming Assembly elections in Telangana will have far-reaching consequences in national politics.
