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Hyderabad
The victory of the Congress in Karnataka in the just concluded assembly elections has kept the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana led by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on alert.
KCR, as the chief minister is called, called for an emergency meeting of the BRS legislature party and parliamentary party, besides other senior functionaries, at Telangana Bhavan at 2 pm on Wednesday to take stock of the latest political situation in the state and the country, a statement from the party state office said.
A senior BRS functionary said on condition of anonymity that the meeting was primarily aimed at discussing the party strategy to be adopted for the ensuing assembly elections in Telangana, in the wake of the resounding victory of the Congress in the latest assembly elections in Karnataka.
“The victory of the Congress in Karnataka is no doubt a welcome sign as it shattered the dreams of the Bharatiya Janata Party to grab power in Telangana, riding on the victory in the neighbouring state. At the same time, it has also sounded a note of caution for us that we cannot take the Congress easy in the state,” the BRS leader said.
On record, the BRS leaders are saying that the outcome of the assembly elections in Karnataka will have little impact on Telangana. “Just the way The Kerala Story failed to amuse people of Karnataka, similarly Karnataka election results will have no bearing on Telangana,” BRS working president and KCR’s son K T Rama Rao tweeted, while thanking the people of Karnataka for rejecting “ugly and divisive politics” of the BJP.
Another senior BRS leader and state legislative council chairman Gutta Sukhender Reddy said the people of Telangana had complete faith in KCR’s leadership and would vote the BRS back to power for the third time. “They are keenly watching the Karnataka drama. Even after three days of winning the elections, the Congress party has not yet decided the chief minister of the state. How can the party expect to lead the nation?” Reddy asked.
However, the BRS leader quoted above said the party would have a close watch on the moves of the Congress in Telangana. “Right from the beginning, we have been told that the Congress is our main rival in the state. We cannot underestimate the party, especially after its victory in Karnataka,” he said.
At Wednesday’s meeting, KCR is expected to alert his party MLAs and other senior leaders to intensify their public outreach campaign so that there is no chance for the Congress to emerge as a threat to the BRS.
The chief minister has announced a major drive to take the government’s policies and programmes to the people for 21 days starting from June 2, the Telangana Formation Day. “The BRS leaders would be asked to go door to door to explain to the people the achievements of the KCR government for the last nine years,” the BRS leader quoted above said.
AICC secretary and former MLA S A Sampath Kumar told reporters on Tuesday that the victory in Karnataka has given a big boost to the party in Telangana. “We shall adopt the same strategy of Karnataka and cash in on the anti-incumbency in Telangana to come to power,” he said.
Political analyst Sriram Karri said the victory of the Congress in Karnataka will have a high and multi-layered impact on Telangana politics, especially in the form of renewed energy in the state Congress. “The BJP in Telangana is facing internal wrangling over state leadership and if there is an exodus of its leaders into the Congress, the narrative will shift towards the Revanth Reddy-led Congress as the primary challenger for the BRS,” he said.
The BRS is in a strong position but will feel the pressure of any resurgence in Congress, which has deep-rooted organisational strength, the narrative and strong leader. “The Congress, however, needs to create a potentially winning campaign to touch the tape. The ruling BRS party might also reduce its focus on national politics for a while and shift its gaze towards state affairs,” Karri said.