Telangana CM KCR has declared plans to launch the “Bharatiya Rashtra Samiti,” saying that policies will be formulated “very soon” despite numerous boomerangs and predictions. Party officials claim that KCR hasn’t even provided a general overview of his agenda. And significant members of the party leadership continued to ignore his strategy.
K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) was a vocal supporter of a front that was hostile to the BJP and the Congress in 2018. Four years later, the leader of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), who first made indirect mention of his “national party” in April at his party’s 21st Foundation Day celebrations, is now focused on launching it.
KCR recently declared that he would “soon” start a national party on September 11. According to a statement from his office, the creation of a national party and the drafting of its ideas will happen very soon.
However, KCR’s colleagues are in the dark because he hasn’t even disclosed the broad strokes of his strategy, let alone specifics on how to move beyond a regional stage and become a national force.
Will a new party run in different states in the general election of 2024? Are there other unanswered questions? Will it be the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in other states and the TRS in Telangana? Why, in their own strongholds, would regional parties join up with KCR’s “national party”?
The most recent meeting, which took place with former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela last week, was the Telangana chief minister’s outreach to opposition leaders nationally.
TRS leaders #KhabarLive spoke to fet and said that the party has not yet been taken on board and that there is a lack of clarity regarding what he plans to do next.
KCR is still a mystery. KCR will launch a new party with an emphasis on a national role as things become more evident. The TRS might then merge with the BRS, a close KCR aide said to #KhabarLive.
Former TRS MP B. Vinod said the plan is to get the BRS registered with the Election Commission in the next few months, and also be in a position to contest by 2024. There is no plan to form a coalition with other regional parties in other states,but the BRS can look at possible “seat sharing” with them, according to Vinod, who is vice-president of the Telangana State Planning Commission.
“Section 29 of The Representation of the People Act allows any party to get registered, and we can also register BRS. Our plan is — if this idea materialises — to expand our horizons and change the name from TRS to BRS. But we’re yet to have a party legislature meeting and get everyone on board. The entire party has not given approval to it yet,”
said Vinod.
“We have not thought about any coalition yet. The idea is to establish the TRS as a national party, and then we can do some seat sharing in other states with regional parties, depending on the situation at the time of polls,” he added.
For the TRS to get the status of a national party, there are three possible routes. One way would be to win at least 6 per cent of valid votes in over four states in general and state elections, and secure at least four Lok Sabha seats. Another route would be getting recognition as a state party in four states. Similarly, the tag can be ensured if the party wins 2 per cent of the seats in the Lok Sabha from at least three different states.
With its presence limited to Telangana, the TRS has a lot of distance to travel before it can aspire to become a national party.
According to TRS MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, the BRS will first look at neighbouring states such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka to contest in 2024.
“We will hopefully have a legislative party meeting by early next month and the idea of the BRS will be discussed. If everyone is on board, the formation of the national party can happen in a month. The party will be a consortium of like-minded people such as those from farmer outfits, former bureaucrats etc. We are also having legal discussions about it. Once it is finalised, there will also be a general body meeting for further discussions,” he told #KhabarLive.
Senior political analyst Nageshwar Rao argued that seat-sharing with regional parties isn’t a practical option.
In a video, Nageshwar Rao said, “What’s confusing here is if KCR enters with his party in Karnataka, why will [Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D.] Kumaraswamy agree to it? Will KCR’s party not become a competition to Kumaraswamy’s party? When KCR went to Bihar, [Deputy CM and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader] Tejaswi Yadav and [CM and Janata Dal (United) leader] Nitish Kumar reacted well and responded positively. So, if KCR contests in Bihar, will they be okay to give away their seats? Even if they do, will they not expect the same in Telangana? Will KCR give a few seats to the JD(U) or the RJD?”
KCR’s ambition of playing a national role has been known for the past four years. One of his first meetings was with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in March 2018, where he announced that a “federal front” was in the making.
Over the years, the TRS chief has met Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief and Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, JD(S) patriarch H. D. Deve Gowda, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief and CM Hemant Soren, and RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
In May, KCR met Aam Aadmi Party chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, in Chandigarh, where he handed cheques to the families of farmers who had lost their lives during the agitation against the farm laws.
However, Nageshwar Rao said, “As long as their own political prospects do not get hurt, these parties are ready to fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and support others. But, once they realise their prospects get hurt, they won’t support [others]. For instance, the Congress and the AAP — both are anti-BJP — but are they getting together? That is also is the condition with the Trinamool Congress and other opposition parties. Both the Congress and KCR oppose the BJP, but are they working together?”
“KCR’s BRS is a big question. And how many of these leaders or parties will support KCR till the end, provided he tries for a coalition, is also a question, considering some of these leaders tried for BJP support in the past,” the political analyst said in the video. #KhabarLive #hydnews #hyderabadlive
