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By rechristening TRS into BRS KCR may lose his T’gana identity: Analysts
Former Osmania University professor and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) leader M Kodandaram, who was once a protégé of KCR, said the chief minister had betrayed the cause of Telangana by rechristening TRS into BRS.
The rechristening of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) as Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) by party president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has left a big question mark on the party’s Telangana identity, political analysts said on Sunday.
The 21-year-old regional party, which spearheaded a massive people’s movement and intense political battle for over 12 years to achieve the separate statehood for Telangana region in undivided Andhra Pradesh, has quietly disappeared from the political landscape of southern India.
Though the party has to go a long way in getting the recognition from the election commission as a “national party,” by foregoing its “Telangana” prefix and adding “Bharat” to it, the regional party sought to gain a national party image.
While renaming the party, KCR, as the chief minister is popularly called, made his intentions clear that he is going to play a role in the national politics hereafter. He clearly indicated that his party was going to contest the elections in the other states, starting with neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
In his ambition to emerge as a national player and take on the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre, KCR has dumped the “Telangana” identity of his party that has been his strength all these years.
In fact, it was his long-drawn struggle for the Telangana identity that catapulted the TRS to power in the first assembly election held in the state in 2014. KCR returned to power for a second successive term in the December 2018 assembly election, riding on this strong Telangana sentiment among the people.
When Telugu Desam Party headed by then Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu joined hands with the Congress and the Communists entered the election fray, KCR played the same Telangana card to whip up the sentiment, saying Andhra rulers were once again conspiring to capture power in Telangana.
In the past four years, the KCR government made every attempt to exploit this Telangana sentiment by targeting the Modi government at the Centre for allegedly meting out stepmotherly treatment towards Telangana.
It has also been indulging in legal battles with the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on various issues concerning Telangana, including increased share in Krishna river water to Telangana and sharing of assets between the two states as per AP Reorganisation Act etc.
By transforming the TRS into BRS, KCR has lost this “emotional bonding” with Telangana. “He can no more claim to be a champion of Telangana cause. He has gone far away from his oft-repeated assertion that he would remain the watchdog of Telangana,” political analyst and columnist Ramu Survajjhula said.
He said the very existence of the TRS lies in playing up Telangana sentiment against the so-called exploitation and flaring up emotions on crucial issues such as water, financial resources and employment. “Now, KCR has lost his main weapon and it will be interesting to see how he will deal with Telangana-specific issues,” Survajjhula said.
Former Osmania University professor and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) leader M Kodandaram, who was once a protégé of KCR, said the chief minister had betrayed the cause of Telangana by rechristening TRS into BRS.
“He has deliberately sidelined Telangana cause on the pretext of entering national politics because he wants to kick-up anti-BJP sentiment as an emotive issue to win the next year’s assembly elections in Telangana. It is like drawing a bigger line beside the smaller line,” said Kodandaram, who played a major role in the separate Telagnana movement as the chairman of Telangana Joint Action Committee.
Agreeing with Kodandaram, Survajjhula said KCR has mastered the art of mobilising people against an issue, every time when he went for elections. “Since he doesn’t have an emotional issue to play up in the upcoming elections, he has chosen to project Modi as the villain,” he said.
The TJS leader, however, said KCR’s tactics would ultimately help the BJP as it results in splitting of anti-BJP votes by way of polarisation of Muslim and Dalit votes.
Telangana legislative affairs minister Vemula Prashant Reddy said KCR had chosen to enter national politics through BRS only to replicate the Telangana model across the country. “He has already made it clear that Telangana would be his prime battle ground. At the same time, he wants the welfare and developmental programmes being implemented in Telangana be implemented all over the country,” Reddy added.
