Telangana CM KCR has rechristened TRS as Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and plans are afoot to make the party a huge draw in Telugu dominated pockets of Karnataka, Maharashtra as well as the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a known fact that there was bitter acrimony between BRS and Andhra’s earlier due to the heated atmosphere in the line up to state bifurcation, particularly from 2009 to 2014.
However, after eight years it is indeed a twist of politics to see KCR eyeing votes in AP too for his party. Now the big question is how will he win over the people of AP. TDP and YSRCP are big parties while Jana Sena and BJP are minor players. Congress has become non-existent in the state, including communists too. Many say that AP people haven’t forgotten KCR’s statements against them particularly to retain rights over Hyderabad city.
However, at the same time KCR is clear on what his agenda would be in AP. To be honest, there’s no strong force fighting against the BJP in AP. KCR is gearing up to explain to the people of AP that it is not Telangana or BRS but the BJP which is responsible for lack of development in AP.
He is expected to highlight the agenda of capital development, Polavaram and Vizag steel disinvestment as examples of BJP’s step motherly treatment to AP. He is also clear that he needs to convey to AP voters that his party or Telangana has never stood in the way of Andhra’s development and that BRS can now fill the vacuum in the state. This is much similar to what KCR could successfully do during the 2014 elections.
In 2014, there was a mood politically in Telangana that Congress may win the polls due to the sympathy that it sacrificed itself in AP to grant Telangana. However, KCR was successful in ensuring that the anti-incumbency factor of Congress rule from 2004 to 2014 is cleverly conveyed to Telangana voters. Although there was a sentiment factor for giving Congress one chance, the then TRS party was wise enough to educate voters that there was no development and only corruption all over India, including United AP because of the UPA government and therefore all the negative sentiment of voting hit the Congress. KCR plans to do the same in AP with a clear anti-BJP agenda in highlighting AP’s woes as a result of Modi and Amit Shah’s negligence towards the state’s development.
