Wary of Congress, BRS goes for facelift
There is a definitive churn in Telangana politics in the aftermath of the Karnataka elections, with the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS)—trying to get its act together to clinch a historic third consecutive innings—calculating the permutations and combinations of leaders in Assembly segments with a high degree of disenchantment with the party. BRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is testing the waters by signalling that a good number of incumbent legislators could be shown the door. He’s also
going the extra mile to highlight his achievements to remind the electorate of the change he has brought about in the state since 2014.
But this is where the plot thickens. There is an element of ambiguity in KCR’s moves. He has been silent on the ongoing efforts to cobble up a viable opposition to the BJP at the national level. Earlier, if he sounded soft on the Manmohan Singh era and the Congress, now he is training his guns on the grand old party. He evidently is aware of the danger posed by a resurgent Congress in Telangana. Besides, quite a few leaders, disgruntled or doubtful of their prospects in the BRS, are believed to be sending feelers to the Congress, which has already given a clarion call to its prodigal sons to return home. The picture emerging months ahead of the Assembly polls is one of consolidation of the Congress as the second pole after the BRS, giving food for thought to the other contender—BJP.
In contrast to the BRS and Congress, the saffron party is grappling with discontent within its camp. The party puts on a brave face, but it is obvious that all is not well. One needs to look no further than its joining committee to understand what is going wrong. When the Congress is gaining traction among BRS rebels, the saffron party’s joining committee, whose duty it is to wean away leaders from other parties, is struggling as everyone appears to be looking at Congress. The internal dissent has forced the party’s central leadership to field its big guns, such as Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, to set the house in order. It is ironic that the BJP now looks more like the Congress and vice-versa. If it can’t wrest the initiative at this juncture, it may be too late as polls near.