Amid the winter chill, Telangana politics is heating up. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is focused on consolidating Congress’s position, while Bharat Raksha Samithi supremo K Chandrashekar Rao is fighting for his party’s survival and revival. Their exchanges have grown acrimonious, their verbal exchanges becoming sharper. The recent panchayat elections, though not party-based, followed expected lines: Congress dominated, BRS showed early signs of recovery, and the Bharatiya Janata Party made its presence felt, though both still trail Congress. While these developments set the stage, the real battles begin next year, likely as early as January or February.
Word is that municipal polls could be the first. Elections to the newly expanded Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and other local bodies may follow. The party in power usually has the edge in local elections, so Congress will likely focus on consolidating its recent gains by mobilising grassroots support and leveraging incumbency. However, Hyderabad, the most prestigious, will be the acid test. The party has been weak in the capital region over the last decade, which has become mainly the turf of the BRS and the BJP. With GHMC’s expansion, Congress will hope to break their stranglehold by targeting newly added areas and appealing to urban voters. Meanwhile, the BRS has a chance to improvise and revive outside Hyderabad, likely aiming to strengthen rural outreach and retake lost ground. This is clearly why KCR left his farmhouse and declared that the game would be different from here on. The saffron brigade’s efforts will focus on avoiding an also-ran status after their impressive Lok Sabha showing, concentrating resources on key wards and increasing campaign intensity. The Prime Minister’s reported warning to party MPs to pull up their socks is just the beginning. For the BJP, a resounding defeat in Hyderabad—where it made its mark last time—would be a hard pill to swallow.
But this is just the political aspect. The other dimension, as seen in the panchayat elections, is what people want—a better quality of life, civic amenities and better roads. The parties’ focus should be on these challenges, whether in Hyderabad or in the interior of Telangana. The rhetoric so far has been discouraging. We believe it could ignite emotions and violence at the grassroots. One can only hope the New Year brings new ideas and better political and social discourse.