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Telangana Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) President K Chandrashekar Rao stunned the Opposition parties by announcing the list of the party’s candidates for 115 out of the 119 seats in the Assembly. His decision caught the Opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party unawares as elections are three months away and they are miles away from charting a plan for the upcoming elections.
What could KCR’s gameplan be? A seasoned politician that he is, KCR is eyeing a role in national politics. After renaming and rebranding the party (TRS) as BRS 10 months ago, he said the country requires a non-Congress and a non-BJP alliance, hinting at the possibility of forging a new political bloc.
He did try to forge alliances with local satraps like Nitish Kumar and Tejaswi Yadav (Bihar), Hemanth Soren (Jharkhand), Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), and MK Stalin (Tamil Nadu). But he couldn’t convince any of them to form an alternative political bloc. His only notable win was Giridhar Gamang, Odisha’s former Chief Minister, who is well past 80 years.
Though KCR and his son and BRS Working President KT Rama Rao said that they would focus on the neighouring States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, their focus seems to be only on Maharashtra.
The talk in political circles here is that KCR’s overtures in Maharashtra are largely meant to cut into the Congress votebank, and indirectly help the BJP. Though the BRS and BJP have been at loggerheads over the last nine years, they now have a common enemy in the form of a rising Congress. A resounding victory for Congress in Karnataka was not good news for both parties. They view the Congress a threat to their electoral prospects.
The BJP seems to have softened its stand against the BRS in Telangana to help the latter focus its energies on defeating the Congress, which has gained psychological strength after its victory in Karnataka.
If KCR is allowed to retain power, he can pursue his national ambitions and undercut the Congress’ prospects in Maharashtra, helping the BJP there.
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