Former Odisha chief minister and nine-time Congress member of Parliament (MP) Giridhari Gamang on Friday joined Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) along with his son, wife and several other leaders at a function in Hyderabad.
The development comes amid the Telangana chief minister’s plans to build a national image of himself to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), his principal adversary.
Gamang, who had resigned from the BJP two days ago with his son Shisir ending his seven-year association with the party, joined the BRS along with his wife Hema, former Koraput MP Jayram Pangi, farmer leader Akshay Kumar, Seshadeb Nanda, RTI activist Pradip Pradhan, former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Nabin Nanda and over 300 leaders from the state.
The former chief minister on Wednesday resigned from the BJP alleging that he was insulted there. “I realised that I am unable to discharge my political, social and moral duty to my people during the last several years,” wrote Gamang in his resignation letter to party president JP Nadda. The father-son duo have been cold shouldered by the party after Shisir Gamang came a poor fourth in the 2019 assembly polls in Gunupur seat winning only 11 % of the votes.
“We will have to focus on both the state Assembly and Lok Sabha elections which are going to be held simultaneously. The BRS will have to fight both,” said Gamang.
{{/usCountry}}“We will have to focus on both the state Assembly and Lok Sabha elections which are going to be held simultaneously. The BRS will have to fight both,” said Gamang.
{{/usCountry}}The aggressive recruitment of leaders from Odisha by Rao ahead of the 2024 polls comes amid the rising rivalry between the BJP and Rao in Telangana where the former is attempting to unseat the regional party in the assembly polls scheduled to be held end of this year. With the BJP looking to increase its Lok Sabha seats in 2024 polls in states like Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Chhatisgarh, Rao is planning to stop the BJP in its tracks by cutting into its votes.
Political analysts said the BSR is aiming at five Lok Sabha seats of Koraput, Nabarangur, Aska, Berhampur and Kandhamal, and 35 Assembly seats in southern Odisha, which has a significant Telugu-speaking population. By getting tribal leaders on board, the party aims to make a dent in the tribal voters in southern Odisha.
Farmers leaders said the induction of the Navanirman Krushak Samiti leaders, who are behind most major protest of farmers in the state in last couple of years, would help the BRS. “Though the state government announced Kalia scheme in 2019, it has not reduced the misery of farmers who are still struggling to get MSP (minimum support price) for their paddy. With input costs going up and farming becoming remunerative, the BRS can fire the imagination of farmers if it comes up with major announcement for them including higher MSP, free electricity and input subsidy,” said farmer leader Ashok Pradhan.
The BRS, which started the Rythu Bandhu scheme for faremrs in 2018 ahead of the assembly polls, is inducting the Navanirman Krishan Samiti leaders to make farm distress its major poll plank in the 2024 polls. Incidentally, the Kalia scheme, under which cash assistance has been given to small and medium farmers of Odisha since 2019, was inspired by the Telangana government’s scheme.
Political commentator Rabi Das said Rao is possibly trying to gain a foothold in the state through southern Odisha by tapping into tribal aspirations. “If Rao gets a dozen tribal leaders of different parties from southern Odisha, he can hope of cutting into the vote bank of the ruling BJD, opposition BJP and Congress in southern Odisha districts like Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur and Rayagada. There are speculations that RTI (Right To Information) activist Pradip Pradhan, who has waged a RTI movement in the state over last decade, may join,” said Das.
Das said the BRS may be eyeing at disgruntled leaders of the BJD and the BJP who may jump ship before the 2024 polls. He, however, said the BJP would be hit more by the entry of the BRS into state politics as it would divide anti-BJD votes. “The BJP remains the principal enemy of the BRS. So it would try its best to stop the BJD from getting more Lok Sabha seats from Odisha,” he said.
However, Congress and BJD leaders said the BRS may not have any impact on state politics. “After leaving the Congress, Gamang and his son could never succeed in polls. They don’t have any following in southern Odisha,” said Congress leader Suresh Routray.
Political analysts said the BRS may have little impact on state polls considering the past performance of other parties like the NCP, BSP, TMC and JMM. “None of these parties could get more than 1 per cent of the votes in the past elections. So I don’t know how would the BRS be any better,” said political science professor Gyana Ranjan Swain.