What is making KCR’s roadshows so special?

HYDERABAD: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo K Chandrashekar Rao is attracting huge crowds in his roadshows in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. It is a tad unusual, indeed.

KCR’s public meetings traditionally are well organised. People used to attend the public meetings in good numbers. He gets on to the dais and delivers his speech and leaves waving his hands at the people. This is what was witnessed hitherto until the 2023 Assembly elections.

However, the Lok Sabha election campaign of KCR has attained a new dimension. This is the first time that he is stirring out into the public after the poll debacle tasted by the BRS in the Assembly elections.

This time around, the entire planning has been made with new elements. He embarked on a mission of roadshows touching base with almost every Lok Sabha constituency. KCR’s schedule is prepared in such a manner that the bus yatra, christened as ‘KCR Poru Baata’, passes through most parts of Telangana.

KCR is making it a point to alight from the bus and sit at roadside tea stalls and visit the residences of party leaders and workers.

For a man who spearheaded a mass agitation demanding the carving of a separate Telangana and who had achieved his life’s ambition of realising the goal, these roadshows may not be unusual. More importantly, the interactions with people over a cup of tea and the personal touch he is giving to the activity has become a cynosure of all eyes, reminding them of the KCR during the agitation.

This is a stark contrast he could ensure compared to the roadshows attended by Congress leaders, including Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, and BJP leaders.

The visual appeal of the pictures and video released by the KCR team at the end of every roadshow is surely exceptional, paling those of the opponents.

Biggest crowd-puller in Telangana

By any standard of measure, KCR continues to be the biggest crowd-puller in Telangana. Despite posting an electoral loss, he is girding up his loins to take on the BJP and the Congress.

KCR is specially focusing on the people’s issues and is driving home the point that suddenly the State has slipped into misery on all fronts – irrigation, agriculture, and electricity. He is highlighting the skewed priorities that led to drying up of water resources owing to lack of planning and poor execution. He is contrasting the Congress rule with his own performance which effectively was translated into actions from the vision evolved for Telangana.

KCR is pinpointing on how the decade-long achievements of Telangana have all gone awry in just six months. He is making it a point to tell the people that he is now a sad man, as Telangana is suffering right in front of his eyes.

The best part of his roadshows is that he is essentially making them interactive. It’s no longer a monologue where he delivers his templated lecture. His thorough knowledge of topography and the local issues causing distress to the people everywhere is making his roadshows stand out.

KCR is evoking answers to his questions of concern and the people are giving resounding responses in unison, though are not tutored by anyone. The responses are instantaneous which largely are echoing the sentiment of disappointment for obvious reasons.

He is not sparing anyone in his powerful delivery of speeches. While his first target is obviously the “poor performance belying the expectations of the people” by the Revanth Reddy-led Congress Government, he is launching a diatribe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP as well. The lofty 100-day promise of implementing the six guarantees boisterously announced by the Congress is being impaled by KCR.

Why should the people vote for the BRS?

KCR, while appealing to the people to vote for the BRS, is delineating the reasons as to why his party MPs should be chosen. The BRS MPs would have genuine concern for Telangana and they would not be influenced by the nation-wide political agendas of the national parties and alliances. The voice of Telangana must be echoed in the Parliament so as to safeguard the interests of the State.

The former Chief Minister is listing out the injustices meted out by the BJP-led Union Government during the 10-year rule. What’s interesting to observe is that people are not only glued to his speeches, which have always been impressive, but even they are listening to the points he is explaining on how the Centre had ditched the State on all fronts, including slashing of the mandatory financial assistance to the tune of Rs. 25,000 crore due to the State.

He is not shying away from talking about the arrest of his daughter Kavitha and is explaining to people the dubious political intentions behind it.

Lusty cheers and responses in one voice to every salvo KCR fires is making his roadshows distinctly different from the election meetings of his opponents.

Working president of the party K T Rama Rao and former Finance Minister T Harish Rao are also using the same technique to evoke response and have changed the tack by mingling with people, shaking hands and posing for photographs.

One big question that is staring at the BRS at this juncture is whether these milling crowds could be converted into votes in its favour. But, sans any doubt, KCR is touching an emotional chord with people and obliquely making it conspicuous that people are indeed missing him, especially when massive crowds raise slogans of “CM…CM”, almost at every roadshow.

Doubts over ECI decisions

KCR was barred from campaigning for 48 hours by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for a remark he had made. But what’s surprising is that for similar or more acerbic remarks, neither the Congress nor the BJP leaders have been getting the same punishment. Even in the case of Andhra Pradesh, the ECI is going soft on the leaders who are throwing barbs at one another.

The ECI is acting funny when it comes to its regulations on the model code of conduct (MCC). The ECI had withdrawn a permission that was accorded for the distribution of Rythu Bandhu scheme during the 2023 Assembly elections, even though it was an ongoing programme.

However, the same ECI allowed the Revanth Reddy regime to distribute the last leg of Rythu Bandhu now and also the assistance to farmers who suffered losses due to untimely rains.

In sharp contrast, Andhra Pradesh Government was barred from distribution of assistance to farmers who suffered due to rains and also an ongoing Vidya Deevena programmes.

Maybe, the ECI follows the Orwellian commandments in animal farm and applying the same measure – all farmers are equal, but some farmers are more equal than the others.