KCR unveils his national plans

The decision of Telangana Chief Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao to change the nomenclature of his Telangana Rashtra Samithi to Bharat Rashtra Samithi clearly indicates that the veteran politician wishes to expand his influence to the national level. It is equally evident that Rao has put himself in the line-up for the leadership of the proposed Federal Front to challenge both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Parliamentary elections. The Telangana Chief Minister is seeking to contain the expansion of the BJP in the southern states and is perhaps convinced that he could be the consensus choice of these states as an alternative to the ruling dispensation at the Centre.
Rao is amongst the seniormost politicians of the region; he started with the Youth Congress and has a very large mass appeal in his state as well as amongst the Telugu speaking people. His calculations are based on the hypothesis that the Congress was shrinking and if the southern states back him for a national role, he may have more MPs with him than any other leader in the Opposition.
Rao has been touring the country and has over the past few months made overtures to non-NDA Chief Ministers and leaders to face the BJP unitedly in their respective states. During the function to announce the change of nomenclature of his party, he had invited several Opposition leaders and it is significant that former Karnataka Chief Minister, H.D. Kumaraswamy, along with many of his MLAs, was amongst those present.
Incidentally, Kumaraswamy’s father, H.D. Deve Gowda was the last Prime Minister of the country from a southern state and Rao realises that he could probably get endorsement from other Opposition parties.
An astute politician and a seasoned player, Rao wants to counter the BJP strategy of expanding its political base in the southern region and thus is making every attempt to distance himself from the saffron brigade, once closely associated with him. His aim is to create a perception that he was the primary stumbling block in the BJP’s path and if the southern states rally behind him, the BJP would be reduced to be a party of the north, something which may not happen that easily.
In attempting to project himself as a likely candidate for the top job, Rao must have calculated that leaders of regional parties which have been coming into existence after breaking away from the Congress, may not be averse to supporting him because of their common DNA.
The announcement of the formation of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi comes at a time when the Congress is trying to retrieve its lost ground in the south and Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra is receiving a very good response.
Therefore, Rao shall have to simultaneously ensure that Congress is not able to consolidate its position, at least in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala to begin with, and he shall deal with the post-Assembly poll situation in Karnataka after the election results are declared next year.
The Congress is very well entrenched in Karnataka and can possibly form the next government there. Otherwise too, historically when the Congress was virtually wiped out in the north in the 1977 Parliamentary polls, it continued to be a dominant force in the south, bagging maximum seats from both a united Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The probable thinking in the Rao camp could be that no leader from Karnataka, where the Congress is strong, has national ambitions and even though Mallikarjun Kharge is poised to win the party’s organization elections, he would not be an acceptable face for Opposition parties to lead the proposed federal front. Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shiva Kumar have Chief Ministerial ambitions but none at the national level.
Ironically, Telangana was carved out from Andhra Pradesh unexpectedly after P. Chidambaram, declared close to midnight of Sonia Gandhi’s birthday on December 9, 2009 that the new state was going to be created. Chidambaram had prime ministerial ambitions and had managed to enjoy Sonia Gandhi’s confidence, who apparently reposed more faith in him as compared to Pranab Mukherjee at that point of time.
Those who believe in conspiracy theories and have watched Congress politics unfold over the years, were convinced that Chidambaram was instrumental in getting Vinod Rai appointed as the CAG and the 2G scam was a creation aimed at forcing Manmohan Singh out of office so that he could be replaced.
DMK leader and former Union Minister A. Raja, who was sacked and sent to jail, has time and again hinted that the 2G scam was hatched to force the then PM to resign. The plot backfired and the India Against Corruption movement used the alleged scam to whip up anti Congress sentiments throughout the country.
The theory that was widely discussed in select political circles was that Sonia Gandhi had managed to assuage the hurt feelings of the Sikh community when she had anointed Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister in 2004. The threat to the family from the Sikhs was reduced after that.
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by pro-Tamil elements in Sriperumbudur and the idea which could have led to her supporting Chidambaram in case Manmohan Singh resigned, was to placate the Tamil feelings. Of course, this theory cannot be substantiated and it remains simply a theory which at one point found many veteran politicians believing in it.
It is a different era, and from the South, it is KCR, who is emerging as a possible challenger. Between us.