Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao recently announced that he is taking the plunge into national politics after renaming his party, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).
Is mere renaming enough to challenge national parties? What are its prospects in other states? News18 asks a few political analysts.
FIRST PREFERENCE
Political analyst Telakapalli Ravi said that KCR’s practical preference is Telangana. “His first target will always remain Telangana. That is why, he launched the BRS before the Munugode bypoll, as it is the first step towards the state Assembly elections next year. They have retained the old name for the bypoll. Politically, he will keep opposing the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) policies, promising a BJP-mukt Bharat.”
With the bypoll, KCR will be seen taking on a national party like the BJP. In the earlier by-elections like Huzurabad, the fight was shown to be between local leaders Eatala Rajender and the CM. But now, with the Communist Party supporting TRS, the bypoll fight is assuming a national flavour.
TRS President and CM Sri K Chandrashekar Rao has read out the unanimous decision of party’s General Body to change the name of the party from Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). pic.twitter.com/9o93wldYYe
— TRS Party (@trspartyonline) October 5, 2022
When asked about the BRS’s prospects in other states, the analyst said: “KCR is a practical person who might not be seeing himself winning many seats in different states, but he will try to gain those six per cent votes in four states, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines. He will be winning at least three seats in Telangana, and can get six per cent votes in other states such as Karnataka and Marathwada, the erstwhile parts of Nizam’s princely state. In Karnataka, he is most likely to form an alliance with the JDS. In Andhra Pradesh, the TRS does not have much hope. At best, KCR might try to get a few former Telugu Desam Party (TDP) colleagues. In the remaining states, it will be a symbolic fight for the BRS.”
TELANGANA MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT
Former chief minister of Karnataka and JD (S) leader HD Kumaraswamy was present at the launch of BRS. Tamil Nadu’s VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan was also present at the meeting, indicating chances of a future alliance with the pink party. E Venkateshu, a political science professor from Hyderabad Central University, says that BRS will try to do what BJP had done before 2014.
“The BRS wants to sell the Telangana model of development – economic growth, good governance etc. It is similar to what the BJP did before 2004 while selling the Gujarat model of development. The Telangana model is welfare-centric and urban-centric. Hyderabad has become a ‘Kamdhenu Kalpavriksham’ for Telangana state. It is due to the city that the TRS has managed to sustain schemes like Rythu Bandhu, Dalit Bandhu, etc. Whether this can attract the non-BJP and non-Congress parties remains to be seen.”
However, before the BRS can emerge a viable third alternative in the country, there are certain constraints it has to overcome. Elaborating on this, the professor said: “The BRS will face serious criticism at the national level due to dynasty rule. It is already facing flak from Congress and BJP in the state due to this. HD Kumaraswamy too belongs to the dynasty rule.”
“Secondly, it remains to be seen if leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar are going to trust KCR. The CM supported Modi when Rs 2,000 was introduced and till recently, TRS was known to be the B-team of BJP. It was only after Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar took out a padayatra, a serious verbal confrontation between the two parties is being seen,” he said.
Thirdly, does the TRS have the organizational structure to fight nationally? The party was formed with the aim of getting a separate Telangana state and that is why it received support. “Getting the same kind of support nationally is a big challenge. Also, when all the regional parties come together, what is their common agenda? Is the BRS going to come up with a common programme at national level? Or is it going to be a federal front? Lastly, to what extent can they manage the financial aspects of going national,” he asked.
THE NUMBER GAME
To get national party status, the BRS has to get at least six per cent votes in four or more states in the Lok Sabha and state elections. Or, it has to win two per cent of the seats in Lok Sabha from at least three states. As of 2014, this number is 11 seats.
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Analyst Palwai Raghavendra Reddy explains how the party might win these seats. “In this scenario, support from the JDS and VCK comes into picture. The JDS has one MP, Prajwal Revanna, grandson of HD Devegowda. The TRS has 9 MPs now. With support from these two parties, it comes to 11.”
Adding that there is a tough challenge for the BRS ahead, the political observer added: “In Telangana, a section thinks that KCR has been around for a long time. They want a change. But they do not know if KCR will go away because there is a splintered opposition in the state. A large portion of youth is unhappy with growing unemployment in the state, especially when job guarantee was a principal promise of the Telangana statehood movement by TRS.”
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