HYDERABAD: The excitement among BRS leaders and activists is palpable ahead of the party’s silver jubilee celebrations — their wait to hear the party supremo and former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao again will end at the public meeting scheduled for April 27 in Elkathurthi, Hanumakonda district.
The feeling across BRS ranks is that the party will get to see the KCR of old — a man able to captivate the audience and galvanise the cadre with his speeches. The party is eager to know how stinging his criticism would be of the ruling Congress and the BJP which is trying to edge past the BRS and emerge as the main Opposition party in the state.
It would be KCR’s first grand public meeting after a gap of almost one and a half years, when he went hammer and tongs at his political opponents during the 2023 Assembly elections.
The Elkaturthi meeting marks the party’s 25-year journey since its formation in 2001 during the movement for a separate Telangana state.
The party ranks are discussing the nature of KCR’s speech, the strategy he may outline for the cadre and whether he will take up routine party issues or leave such matters to BRS working president K T Rama Rao, T Harish Rao, K Kavitha and others who currently represent the party at public forums.
KCR, who contested several byelections during the Telangana agitation, gradually built the party’s strength before forming the government in 2014 and again in 2018.
Based on past examples, core party leaders expect that KCR may challenge the ruling Congress to face byelections in the 10 Assembly constituencies where BRS MLAs have defected. He may also directly challenge Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to prove his claims of development under his leadership — a topic that has been discussed in the BRS over the past week.
A senior party leader observed that if KCR challenges the ruling party to go for byelections or a direct confrontation, it could shift the political dynamics. There is also speculation over whether the Congress will revive “Operation Akarsh” and how that would affect the political landscape.
Meanwhile, party workers are eagerly anticipating the upcoming local body elections. The silver jubilee meeting is seen as an opportunity to boost morale and garner party support, particularly at the grassroots level, where cadre have been demoralised by successive defeats in Assembly and parliamentary elections.
Some senior leaders feel that the party needs a ground-level revamp and that KCR’s message at the public meeting will be crucial. However, there is also concern over the proximity some Congress ministers reportedly maintain with BRS MLAs. While the party publicly maintains a strong stance against the government, these internal dynamics are contributing to ongoing discussions within the party.