KCR: But One other As soon as-Influential Chief Struggling For Relevance

By Kalyani Shankar

The Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi, previously the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, units itself other than different declining political events. Led by the formidable Ok. Chandrasekhar Rao, or KCR, the occasion’s nationwide enlargement has been marked by setbacks, together with its failure to retain energy in Telangana. This destiny is shared by many political events and their leaders, as most finally fade away after holding energy at a state or nationwide degree.

The downslide continued as BRS suffered a big and sudden setback with no Lok Sabha seat in 2024. Regardless of having round Rs 1,000 crore in occasion funds, KCR’s hopes of nationwide enlargement have been dashed.

Rao renamed his occasion B.R.S. in 2022, dropping the phrase Telangana, and KCR opened branches in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. These items are defunct now. This can be a stark instance of how the political panorama can change immediately. Having misplaced energy within the 2023 Meeting elections to the Congress, which has been within the wilderness for the previous ten years, the B.R.S. is now going through a big battle for survival.

The B.R.S. has no illustration within the Lok Sabha for the primary time. The occasion, which dominated Telangana politics for about twenty years and dominated the state for nearly a decade, was voted out of the Lok Sabha in 2024. Additionally, simply final week, B.R.S. obtained an extra setback. BRS MLA A. Gandhi defected to the ruling Congress, which displays the occasion’s decline. The Congress now boasts 75 M.L.A.s, together with 65 from Congress, one from C.P.I., and 9 former B.R.S. members.

In 2001, KCR made a historic resolution to resign from the Telugu Desam Get together (T.D.P.). He believed that making a separate state was the one strategy to finish the discrimination within the Telangana area, sparking a requirement for separation. T.R.S. was shaped to attain separate Telangana, a seemingly unimaginable regional goal. He was 47 on the time. T.D.P. was the second-largest occasion within the Nationwide Democratic Alliance.

In 2004, the T.R.S. joined forces with the Congress and secured 5 Lok Sabha seats. Following this, KCR was appointed the Union Minister for Labour and Employment within the United Progressive Alliance (U.P.A.) authorities, headed by U.P.A. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. He continued his battle inside and out of doors Parliament. In 2009, he initiated a starvation strike to demand the introduction of the Telangana Invoice in Parliament. After just a few days, the Centre conceded to his calls for.

Shortly earlier than the 2014 election, the U.P.A. Authorities introduced the formation of Telangana state. The T.R.S. carried out properly within the Meeting and Lok Sabha elections, profitable 11 seats, its highest tally. Nevertheless, it misplaced energy to the Congress within the 2023 Meeting polls. On December 9, 2022, T.R.S. was formally renamed B.R.S., indicating KCR’s intention to pursue nationwide ambitions.

Now that the B.R.S. has did not win even a single Lok Sabha seat within the state and its vote share has dropped to solely 16.69%, the occasion faces a real existential disaster. The B.R.S. misplaced energy final yr, with simply 35 seats within the Meeting. The B.R.S Chief struggled to maintain the occasion collectively in the course of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It couldn’t implement plans to area candidates in different states.

KCR’s try to determine a dynastic rule by appointing his son, nephew, and daughter to important positions has been a degree of rivalry. It was seen as a deviation from the occasion’s founding rules and an indication of accelerating autocracy. Secondly, like many dictatorial leaders, Rao did not develop a second tier of management, which is an asset for any political chief besides selling his household.

Thirdly, KCR, who rose to energy via agitation and protests, steadily withdrew from public areas. His inaccessibility and his aversion to media have considerably contributed to the disconnect between him and his leaders and employees. Rao surrounded himself with individuals who lacked substance and solely praised him. Consequently, he couldn’t see the fact and fell into the lure of his sycophants, who introduced false information.

In contrast to Chandrababu, who had the backing of the Kamma neighborhood, KCR lacks assist from any caste group besides Velamas, a small group. This political isolation is a big consider his decline. Fifthly, there have been allegations of corruption. His daughter Kavitha is now in jail for alleged corruption within the Delhi liquor case.

Sixthly, as an alternative of concentrating on the state, KCR started dabbling in nationwide politics and went across the Opposition-ruled states with a unadorned ambition of changing into Prime Minister. However he failed. This wavering resulted in B.R.S. unable to type the federal government within the 2024 polls. Seventhly, he thought he and his occasion have been unbeatable and would proceed to rule Telangana indefinitely like many different tinpot dictators. Eighthly, B.R.S. confronted defections. Nevertheless, he additionally induced defections when he was the chief minister.

KCR has now joined a bunch of once-influential leaders comparable to Sharad Pawar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Edappadi Palaniswamy, Deve Gowda, Mayawati, Uddhav Thackeray, and others who’ve beforehand held energy however are actually struggling. In politics, it’s like enjoying a sport of snakes and ladders. (IPA Service)