Fiery KCR’s Warangal speech pumps up BRS cadre, gives Telangana Congress the jitters
His aggression in political arena likely to reshape contours of State's political narrative
Hyderabad: From revolving around the goof-ups, missed deadlines and failed promises of the Congress government, and the reprimands from the Supreme Court to the Chief Minister, perhaps to the most for any CM in recent history, Telangana’s politics turned a new leaf on Sunday.
“I did not criticise them for 16 months to give them time, but with the State crumbling, silence is no longer an option” — a declaration that was met with thunderous applause indicated what lay ahead in the days to come for the Congress.
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If the massive turnout at the BRS public meeting in Elkathurthy and the fiery speech by party president and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao undoubtedly re-energised the BRS cadre, it also gave the Congress the jitters.
The show of strength through the Warangal meeting proved that the BRS was in no mood to concede political space.
Chandrashekhar Rao’s aggressive and combative tone, tearing into the Congress over its failures to deliver on election promises and dismissing any plans to topple the government, has rekindled the morale of the party workers, making it clear that the BRS would question each and every move the Congress took against the interests of Telangana and its people.
His sharp remarks on various issues plaguing the State in tune with questions raised by the people resonated strongly with the BRS rank and file. The visible public support, despite logistical chaos and massive traffic jams, further emboldened the leadership, projecting the image of a party regaining its footing. While returning from the public meeting and even on Monday morning, reports indicated that the BRS cadre were visibly fully charged, ready to take on the Congress, head on.
The Congress, which had sensed the potential resurgence of the BRS days before the meeting, had tried its best to control the damage, by digging up an NDSA report that was gathering dust for two months in Delhi, to even desperate measures like tearing BRS posters and using police and transport officials to block vehicles carrying BRS cadre to Elkathurthy.
As television and YouTube channels saw people flocking in lakhs to see and listen to KCR, senior Ministers ran outside soon after the meeting to launch a counter attack. They tried branding the BRS chief’s speech as misleading and politically motivated. They even challenged Chandrashekhar Rao for a public debate, though it is not clear what answers they would have to his questions. But the immediate reaction of the Congress, on Sunday and even on Monday, made one thing clear. They know their seats are getting hot.
Pure statemanship too was on display at Elkathurthy, exposing what Revanth Reddy lacked. Despite multiple exchanges of fire on the borders of Telangana, the State’s current Chief Minister had remained mum. It was the senior statesman in K Chandrashekhar Rao that stood up and asked the Centre to stop Operation Kagar, in which, he said, tribals and youngsters too were being massacred, and that in a democratic space, even the voices of the Maoists had to be heard.
The next morning, Revanth Reddy ran to government advisor and senior Congress leader K Jana Reddy to discuss the government’s stand on it, after months of staying oblivious, or ignorant, to what was happening right next to his State’s borders, and within it too.
Interestingly, while the BJP officially refrained from any response, its MLA T Raja Singh criticised Chandrashekhar Rao’s remarks of the Centre’s indifference towards Telangana and at the same time, took the opportunity to voice discontent within his own party. His comments that the BJP would have come to power, had certain leaders been active and effective, exposed internal dissatisfaction in the BJP ranks, which the BRS could look to exploit.
Under these circumstances, Chandrashekhar Rao’s aggression in the political arena is likely to reshape the contours of Telangana’s political narrative. His focus on Congress’s unfulfilled promises is expected to find traction as public impatience with the Revanth Reddy government is shooting up.
Political observers say that the success of the BRS in converting this resurgence into electoral gains remains a challenge, but at the same time, they admit that the Warangal rally has redrawn the battle lines, catapulting the BRS back into the scheme of things.
