The first week of July can aptly be summed up as a week of smart political moves aimed at checkmating political rivals going by another round of one-upmanship played out by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP).
Hyderabad witnessed the BJP’s calculated move to hold its two-day national executive with an eye to consolidate its chances in Telangana in the run-up to the Assembly elections next year. Vijay Sankalpa Sabha, the public meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 3 with an array of top BJP leaders was touted as the next big step towards reaping the benefits of the anti-TRS sentiment among the youth and other sections as perceived by the BJP leadership.
After a fiery war of words between the ruling TRS and the BJP preceding the meeting, everyone expected that Mr. Modi will go all out against Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his government. But it turned out to be an anti-climax as the Prime Minister totally ignored TRS and its leadership and focussed pointedly on the largesse doled out to Telangana by the BJP government.
For the record, a day prior to the rally, Mr. Rao upstaged the BJP by inviting Opposition Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha to Hyderabad to canvas support. The TRS cadres turned out in large numbers to accord a rousing welcome to Mr. Sinha.
In his nearly one-hour long address, Mr. Rao hit out at the BJP government for its failure and shot nine questions at the leadership, daring it to answer them.
Simultaneously, the streets of Hyderabad witnessed a turf war with both parties vying with one another in erecting flexi boards and posters.
The two-day national executive, success of the PM’s public meeting and the TRS leaders appropriating the Opposition Presidential candidate has now set the stage for another round of battle for supremacy among the TRS and the BJP. This, in turn, has thrown a challenge to the Congress, which, to date, was considered as the main Opposition party.
The BJP, to take forward its success to the logical end and ride to power on what it perceives winds of change, needs to consolidate its position in each constituency. The BJP leaders should not forget the fact that those mulling the idea of floor-crossing are facing strong anti-incumbency in their respective constituencies and are worried about being denied tickets. Taking such leaders could be counterproductive too.
Simultaneously for the TRS, the success of the two-day BJP national executive and good response to the Prime Minister’s public meeting should come as a wake-up call. The pink party should start serious damage control measures to minimise the impact of the BJP leaders’ campaign on corruption, family rule and failure to fulfil the promises made in the manifesto.
The TRS simply cannot make light of the BJP’s aggressive posturing and Congress Party’s determined bid to improve its fortunes. If Mr. Rao has to make his mark in national politics, he should first retain power in the State again.
The present Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief A. Revanth Reddy, who completed one year in office, too has been successful in revitalising the party despite lot of obstacles created by seniors in the party. Cadres see in Mr. Reddy a ray of hope of performing well in the coming Assembly elections.
On Sunday, Mr. Rao challenged the Opposition parties saying that he was ready to face an early election. The Congress and the BJP responded in the same tone challenging the TRS chief to dissolve the Assembly and seek fresh elections.
While the Assembly elections are more than a year away, Telangana is already witnessing intense political heat.
ravi.reddy@thehindu.co.in
