HYDERABAD: What is TRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao up to? His much-awaited press conference post the farmhouse raid — some say it could be held in Delhi, others say in Hyderabad — hasn’t happened yet. And, except for rumours swirling around Pragathi Bhavan about who is going in for “marathon meetings”, nothing much has come straight from the man himself. In short, his silence is deafening even as the cacophony over the BJP’s alleged poaching attempt is increasing by the hour.
The audio leaks on Friday have given this entire episode a new dimension, coming as they did after the ACB court refused remand to the three accused in custody. The conversations have references to a top BJP leader and also to “payments” for poaching TRS legislators. How is this going to pan out? That is the million dollar question. Going by Friday’s developments, it appears that the ruling party is going for the BJP’s jugular in public court while the law takes its own course.
Ahead of the Munugode bypoll, it has already had the BJP on the defensive — which is something new for the party in recent times in the State. Sources tell TNIE more audio clips could be on the way, perhaps one or two a day! The logic being that TRS leaders will have new ammunition every day, notwithstanding the “gag orders” given to them by IT Minister KT Rama Rao. They may refrain from speaking on the investigation part and instead focus on the political to paint the BJP into a corner.
Twin advantages
A well-placed source explains that this strategy has twin advantages. 1) Munugode will be in the TRS kitty as the BJP cadre appear “demoralised” — despite the brave face being put on by their leaders. Here, BJP leaders may beg to differ but this is the ruling party’s thinking; and 2) Other TRS MLAs and leaders, who had been entertaining the thought of defecting to the BJP, will think twice. “They will hesitate to even take a call,” joked the sources.
“The BJP has been thoroughly exposed now,” Energy Minister G Jagadish Reddy beamed on Friday. The TRS has already targeted the BJP for “luring Congress MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy by dishing out contracts worth `18,000 crore”. The farmhouse raid adds to its narrative of a “greedy BJP flexing its money muscle” to come to power.
Will the TRS gameplan pay dividends? It seems so for now. The BJP has cancelled its public meeting tentatively scheduled to be addressed by party chief JP Nadda in Munugode on October 31 ahead of the bypoll on November 3. Union Minister G Kishan Reddy and BJP State president Bandi Sanjay have sought to distance themselves from the accused and the entire episode, calling it a TRS drama. “But the
State BJP has gone from ‘offensive’ mode into a ‘defensive’ mode,” a TRS leader quipped.
Interestingly, the other by-product of this saga is the never-ending misery of Congress. ‘Operation farmhouse’ has stolen the thunder from Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra for which the State party unit has been eagerly waiting. The only hope for Congress lies, ironically, in the success of the TRS if one can put it that way. The Congress can now at least hope for a runner-up honourable finish in Munugode, which is actually its seat.
Meanwhile, the TRS chief is in touch with senior leaders of the party and fine-tuning his unpredictable strategy. Though there appear no immediate plans for him to visit Delhi, there is talk that Rao may attend the condolence meeting of Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, who passed away recently, in Delhi.
Interestingly, the TRS ally, the MIM, is silent on Operation Lotus. MIM chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi just re-tweeted a tweet of the second audio clip.