KCR scripting ‘bounce back’ of BRS with illusions on Congress fading fast

HYDERABAD: With the perception of voters in Telangana fast-changing in the last three months after the Congress won the Assembly elections, a seasoned politician and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao seems to be working on his stroke of genius.

In just three months, the people of the State realised that things would not be the same as earlier. With the Congress Government displaying an indifferent attitude to the flagship programmes of the earlier BRS Government such as Irrigation, Mission Bhagiratha, Rytu Bandhu financial assistance, incentives to power looms, and Dalit Bandhu, voters were disillusioned.

This might explain why the Congress was unable to find suitable candidates for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections in the State. The BJP too was facing a shortage of candidates. The only option for them seemed to be the turncoat leaders from the BRS.

Using the sabbatical to redraw political equations in the State, KCR had worked out several permutations and combinations to turn the tide in favour of the Pink party. While adopting a tough stance against those leaving the BRS fold, he had been encouraging new faces with credibility for the Lok Sabha elections.

Opening up the BRS for an alliance with Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), KCR brought the Dalits much closer to the BRS. The Dalits who were peeved over the dumping of the Dalit Bandhu scheme by the Congress Government and the neglected BCs found the BRS-BSP-combine as an attractive alternative.

For instance, the Yadadri temple incident where a Dalit Deputy Chief Minister was made to sit on a lower pedestal while all the so-called ‘Reddy’ leaders sat on a higher ground opened up the eyes of many who thought that Congress was benevolent towards Dalits and other weaker sections.

The clarification given by Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka raised more questions than answered the real issue. It was clear that the Dalit Deputy CM was arm-twisted to give that statement that he chose to sit much lower than his ‘Reddy’ compatriots.

The agrarian crisis brewing in the State cannot be hidden for too long as there were reports from almost all parts of the State that the farmers were facing acute shortages of irrigation and sinking borewells to save standing crops. Reports of drinking water shortages and frequent power outages reminded everyone of the good old days when the KCR Government took care of so many important issues by monitoring several vital sectors like an eagle.

Finally, the one sector that KCR mastered and the Congress failed to understand was irrigation. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy told the national media that providing irrigation to Kharif crops would be difficult and the whole nation was facing drought.

While the BRS made it amply clear that it would support the Government to work for five years, the BRS strategy seemed to be making the people understand the difference between the good governance of the BRS and the lack of direction of the Congress Government.