The once-promising trajectory of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief K. Chandrashekhar Rao or KCR’s national political ambitions faced a setback following the Telangana Assembly election defeat in December last year.
Mr. Rao, who vigorously pursued national politics after rebranding the party from Telangana Rashtra Samithi to BRS during his chief ministerial tenure, tried to promote the slogan of ‘Ab Ki Baar, Kisan Sarkar’ in multiple meetings across Maharashtra, aiming to establish the party as a potent national political force.
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However, the party’s defeat in its home State left his plans in disarray and led to a strategic silence from Mr. Rao. This has left leaders in Maharashtra in a state of confusion and indecision. With the Lok Sabha election looming, leaders are grappling with the dilemma of whether to align with the BRS, form a new party, or merge with existing political entities in the western State.
“He lost elections in Telangana, which we didn’t expect, and he also had an injury. Now, though he is appearing in public, he is unresponsive to our repeated calls and messages,” said the party’s Maharashtra Kisan Morcha chief Manik Kadam.
Recently, the leaders convened in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (previously Aurangabad) to deliberate on their next steps. A communiqué was sent to the BRS president, urging clear instructions on the party’s Maharashtra intentions, with a one-week deadline for a response. “The political future of our party leaders, including a few ex-MLAs and an ex-MP, is at stake. He can’t go incommunicado and leave us hanging in the air,” Mr. Kadam said.
Early splash
The party has held half-a-dozen impressive public meetings – the first rally in Nanded on February 5, another at Kandhar-Loha in Nanded, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Solapur, Pandharpur and Sangli. It set out to appeal to the farming community with its slogan but could not make much of an impact as could be seen from the party’s performance in the elections to the posts of directors of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee in Nanded district.
Mr. Rao not “finding” a leader to head the State unit was an indication that he was not overly interested, but people were inspired by his reputation and welfare schemes implemented in the neighbouring State, said another leader from the Marathwada region who is likely to shift allegiance to the BJP now.
“There is certainly a political void in Maharashtra, and Mr. Rao needs to respond. When he chose to start the Maharashtra unit, he arranged for helicopters and vehicles to bring us to Hyderabad for meetings. We didn’t initiate contact; he did. We are willing to support whatever decision he makes, but a decision must be made,” Mr. Kadam stated.
The party leaders said that Mr. Rao, in one of the meetings, assured them that he would contest from the Nanded Lok Sabha seat, a decision that could have helped in the expansion of the party.
Show of strength
The State unit is planning to organise a show of strength in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in a few days and take a decision.
Even on his home turf, Mr. Rao is facing a backlash with several leaders planning to switch allegiance to the ruling Congress or the BJP.
Two sitting MPs from the party have already joined the BJP, while another shifted to the Congress recently.
Meanwhile, in Andhra Pradesh, the party has essentially ceased its operations. Thota Chandrasekhar, a retired IAS officer who heads the BRS unit there, is considering joining Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party.
