HYDERABAD: The recent comments made by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar on BRS MLA and former minister T Harish Rao have created a buzz in state political circles in general and the pink party in particular.
The CM had said that he finished the political career of BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and that of his son and party’s working president KT Rama Rao. In the same breath, Revanth Reddy stated that he knew how to “manage” Harish Rao, considered one of the top three leaders in the BRS.
Close on the heels of Revanth’s comments, MoS for Home and former state BJP president Bandi Sanjay described Harish Rao as a credible leader in the BRS and Rama Rao as a leader who is busy only on social media without much connect with ground reality. At one time, he even welcomed Harish Rao to join the BJP if the latter was interested.
The statements of the two leaders terming Harish Rao a competent leader to run the BRS have led to an animated debated in the political circles regarding the intention behind them. Senior leaders in the Congress, BJP and BRS see them as a ploy to create a rift between Harish Rao, who is also a former finance minister, and Rama Rao, former IT minister and KCR’s heir apparent.
Some leaders also think that Revanth and Sanjay are trying to sow seeds of suspicion in Chandrasekhar Rao that Harish Rao is maintaining friendly relations with both the Congress and BJP and that he might one day ditch the BRS to chart his own political career.
The comments of Revanth and Sanjay are likely to create sympathy for Harish Rao in the event of Rama Rao taking over the reins of the BRS some time in future. Harish Rao played an important role in building the BRS and is seen as a strong contender for the key party position. BRS leaders are worried how Chandrashekar Rao, the BRS patriarch, will handle the situation and pave way for smooth transformation of power to his son Rama Rao.
A BRS senior leader said that both Revanth and Sanjay are trying to weaken the position of Harish Rao in the BRS and prevent him from taking a key position as he is the backbone of the pink party and a tough opponent.