The present political situation is most favourable to flare an issue-based political war with ruling BRS party and BJP in Telangana to gain power momentum.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is in charge of the federal government, and the Bharat Rashtra Samiti, which is about to complete two terms in the state, are expected to engage in a heated, no-holds-barred election battle in Telangana.
The upcoming election year will feature some combative posturing at the state and federal levels against the backdrop of the expanding effects of the Delhi liquor scandal, with both parties aiming for a hat-trick in 2023.
That would be an unfair contest against their other political competitors because neither of the parties, which have been in office since 2014, will have a financial shortage. Money power is now regarded as being essential to winning elections. It is obvious that many voters would have expected (and undoubtedly would have received!) something in cash or kind before coming to the polls to exercise their right to vote, notwithstanding the scepticism of supporters of democracy.
At the party level, it now costs a lot to secure a Lok Sabha ticket, let alone a Rajya Sabha seat. In AP, a serving Rajya Sabha member is accused of paying his party’s leadership Rs. 100 crore in exchange for RS nomination! He contends that there would be no assurance that the LS candidate would prevail even though, in the case of RS, the outcome is obvious.
The consequences of the Delhi liquor scam have brought attention to the “south group” and its key member, according to the “findings” of the Enforcement Directorate and the notices sent to Kavitha BRS MLC, in addition to causing the resignation of two ministers in the Delhi government led by Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Admi Party and daughter of TS Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao — for enquiry. There is no doubt that the BJP is deriving a lot of political mileage out of this scam.
The saffron party, which has been positioning itself in Telangana as an alternative to BRS, is getting ready to act strongly this time. Five decades ago, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), the ideological predecessor of the BJP, had eight representatives in the combined Andhra Pradesh Assembly.
The Janata government led by Morarji Desai was overthrown in 1979 following the failure of the Janata experiment at the federal level. On April 6, 1980, the BJP was established with Atal Behari Vajpayee serving as its founding president. Up until AAP took over from the Congress, Delhi had been the BJP’s heartland and the Congress had been its main rival. In the Delhi municipal elections, the Congress had dealt the BJP a severe blow in 1983, prompting an emotional Vajpayee to resign from the post of party’s national president. L K Advani had taken the reins of the party in1986. In some pockets of the country the BJP had become so strong that it could ensure the defeat of even the ruling party.
The Telugu Desam Party, a newcomer to Andhra Pradesh politics, overthrew the Congress in January 1983 and swept to power. The division of AP has aided BJP’s expansion in Telangana. Since that the BJP supports Hindutva policies, it might be simple for the party to advance their ideologies in the religiously sensitive Telangana region.
The All India Majlis-eIttehadul Muslimeen (MIM) opposed the division of AP because they thought it would make the BJP more powerful in the Telangana region. BJP has grown stronger throughout the years by making use of its influence at the federal level. It has given the impression that the BJP and BRS will be the primary contenders in the forthcoming Assembly elections, with the Congress being completely absent from the discussion. In order to accomplish it, BRS has already deprived Congress of its status as the principal opposition party by luring its legislators.
After growing significantly in Telangana, KCR has made the decision to expand his political influence nationally. He is teaming up with Arvind Kejriwal and other opposition figures to take on the Narendra Modi administration at the Centre thanks to the Delhi spirits scandal.
Will Telangana’s citizens support whatever KCR says about the spirits fraud by equating it with T-pride and self-respect is the bigger question.
Whether Telangana would accept the ED findings connecting Kavitha to the scandal remains to be seen. In the middle of all of this, the Reddy community’s strategy will be important because they have consistently offered support to the Congress. The BJP is now attempting to win over that community as well. It has already pinched NDMA vice chairman M. Shasidhar Reddy and combined AP’s last chief minister N. KiranKumar Reddy from the Congress.
Overall, Telangana’s election battle in 2023 could be heated, mostly between BRS and BJP. #hydnews #hydkhabar#livehyd
