Rama Krishna Sangem
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of late, has been unusually aggressive against Telangana CM and BRS chief KCR. In his two back to back visits to Telangana on October 1 and 3, Modi sharpened his attack on KCR, by targeting him personally instead of politically. Interestingly, Modi has almost ignored Congress in his speeches, .which he does usually.
Particularly, Modi’s outbursts at Nizamabd that KCR had tried to join ruling NDA at the Centre if the former supports his plan – of making son KTR the CM of Telangana. “I refused to support KCR’s proposal,” claimed Modi. This claimed conversation between them took place in a meeting in Delhi just around Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections three years back, in December 2020.
For those of us from Telangana and follow its politics, there’s no real sensational thing in PM Modi’s comments. There have been demands or pleas from within BRS that KTR should or could be made CM, one day, if not immediately. Of course, KCR himself put an end to such speculation in the assembly long ago saying he was fit enough to continue in CM post for another 10 years. Anyway, we all know, KTR is the No 2 in the party and the state government.
KTR, BRS working president and leader of many cabinet sub-committees, too made it clear that at presently there is no vacancy to the post of CM in Telangana. He is more than happy to work as a minister in KCR’s cabinet. Even after Modi’s Nizamabad outbursts, KTR dismissed it sayng: “I don’t need Modi’s permission to become the CM, all we need is people’s blessings”.
Why Modi talked about it now?
People have wondered why Modi is talking about a meeting that took place almost three years ago? Why he hasn’t revealed or leaked about it to anyone. A major reason appears to be boosting morale of his own BJP leaders and cadre who had lost steam in Telangana for the last few months, especially after BJP’s electoral defeats in Munugode by-poll in Telangana and Karnataka assembly elections.
Some BJP leaders, particularly those who joined it from Congress and BRS are skeptic about the Centre’s soft attitude towards the KCR government. A former minister A Chandrasekhar who joined BJP from Congress went back to the party after alleging that there seemed a nexus between Modi and KCR. Chandrasekhar, in a meeting asked Home Minister Amit Shah, asked why BRS MLC and KCR’s daughter Kavitha was not arrested in Delhi’s liquor scam.
A section of former MPs who joined BJP from other parties started secret meetings in farmhouses near Hyderabad expressing their unhappiness over BJP national leadership being soft on KCR. There are also reports that some of them, like former MPs Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy, Vijayashanti and Vivek Venkataswamy, might go to Congress, if BJP doesn’t act firmly against CM KCR.
All these reports unnerved BJP top brass. PM Modi’s sharp personalized attack on CM KCR is part of his revised strategy to contain dissidence within the party and boost morale of the cadre. Granting of a turmeric board and a tribal university days before announcement of schedule for assembly elections too is part of the strategy to get decent number of votes and seats in Telangana assembly elections.
Otherwise, Modi cannot hope to win more MPs in LS elections next year. In the entire South India, which accounts for 129 LS MPs, only Karnataka and Telangana give some hope of winning good number of seats. In the remaining three states – AP, Keral and Tamil Nadu, BJP is in a hopeless condition. Refusal of AP CM Jagan to have an open alliance and breaking up of alliance by AIADMK have obviously dismayed PM Modi.
So, Telangana is the second best bet for BJP in the South. By claiming that he had rejected CM KCR’s efforts to enter NDA, Modi wants to convey to his cadre that there is no nexus between the two parties. Secondly, by saying KCR wanted to make his son the next CMand he rejected it, Modi claims high moral ground that BJP is against to “Parivarwadi (family or dynastic) politics”.
This attack of BJP against “Parivarwadi politics” targets both BRS and Congress. Of course, KTR retorted saying why BJP doesn’t see family politics in Maharashtra and Karnataka where it aligned with Uddhav Thackeray (earlier), Ajit Pawar and HD Kumarasamy. As I mentioned above, for people of Telangana, KTR taking the place of CM KCR is not a big news. It is only a question of when, not whether.
