HYDERABAD: After its landslide victory in the recent Assembly elections, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) is on a gravy train, having stolen an unassailable lead over its principal rival Congress even as the Election Commission released the election schedule on Sunday.
Turbo-charging its cadre, the TRS has launched a powerful campaign across the State to win 16 of 17 seats (it has left Hyderabad to AIMIM) while the Congress is yet to pull itself together from its shocking defeat in the Assembly elections. In 2014, the TRS won 14 seats while the AIMIM retained Hyderabad.
TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao wants to ensure a thumping victory for his party so that he can play his cards according to how matters pan out at the Centre as he believes neither the formation led by the Congress nor that headed by the BJP will be able to obtain a majority in the Lok Sabha polls. Rao is hopeful of pushing forward the Federal Front which he envisages as a credible anti-BJP, an anti-Congress coalition that will propel him to play a major role at the Centre.
In Telangana, Rao prepares to deal another sledge-hammer blow to the Congress by announcing his list of candidates for the 16 Lok Sabha seats in one go in a day or two even as the grand old party grapples with shortlisting candidates.
The TRS fortified its position in Khammam and Mahabubabad Lok Sabha constituencies after the Congress polled more votes than the pink party in the segments in the Assembly polls. Though Rao has the support of voters, thanks to his several welfare schemes Rythu Bandhu, Asara Pensions, Rythu Bheema and so on, he has to take in his stride the fact that this time around he cannot rouse Telangana passions by targeting Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu since there will be no People’s Front, a coalition of the Congress, the TDP, CPI and TJS in the electoral arena.
There is no doubt that by kindling the Telangana sentiment, he had reaped a rich harvest of votes which, apart from the windfall of support that the welfare schemes had generated, helped him make a clean sweep of the seats.
TRS working president KTR, who is spearheading the campaign is taking enough care to make sure that voters will not be influenced by the Congress’s contention that they should have a “national perspective” and vote for the Congress since it is Rahul Gandhi and not KCR who is going to be the Prime Minister. To counter their argument, KTR said, “Voting for the TRS is also in the interest of the nation as the country is looking at KCR for direction.”
Juxtaposed to the TRS, the Congress remains on a weak wicket, unable to inspire people. Party chief Rahul Gandhi’s attempts to infuse some enthusiasm into the cadre on Saturday were in vain.
He tried to describe KCR as Modi’s front, but the crowd wasn’t moved. On top of this, the party lies in tatters in Telangana.
Though Congress leaders are sounding the poll bugle asking voters to support the Congress and help Rahul Gandhi become the Prime Minister, it has cut no ice with them.