The lowest electoral point in the 20-year political history of the TRS party was in the year 2009. The party won only 10 seats in the 294 seat Andhra Pradesh Assembly. KCR appointed Eetala Rajender as the floor leader of the TRS legislature party, despite both his son and nephew getting elected as MLAs too. He was the first finance minister of Telangana in the 2014-18 term and then Health minister in the 2nd term. All this clearly signifies the importance of Eetala Rajendar in the TRS scheme of things. He was the most known face outside of the KCR family too. KCR had a fallout with Rajender and removed him from the cabinet at the peak of the 2nd COVID wave (citing corruption in some land deal).
The fallout was not sudden and was brewing for quite some time, but the removal was quite sudden and the timing totally unexpected. The political scenario in the state heated up with such a senior leader, who held very crucial posts in the party and in the government being unceremoniously sent out. Eetala Rajendar then joined the BJP, which is increasingly being seen as the opposition party that is capable of taking upon the might of the KCR and TRS party. He also quit his assembly seat thereby necessitating this bye-election in Huzurabad, a TRS stronghold.
KCR went all out to stop Eetala Rajendar and the BJP from winning this. He introduced a new scheme called “Dalit Bandhu” in which he promised a whopping Rs. 10 lakh per Dalit family in the state. He announced that he is starting this scheme exclusively in the Huzurabad constituency and launched it with a lot of fanfare, without ironing out the details of the scheme. He then said it is just a matter of time before he extends this to the entire state.
While he was still figuring out how to give this money, the Election Commission passed an order to halt this scheme till the by-election was over. The TRS party, of course, started a campaign that the EC is in the hands of the BJP, but the people weren’t so foolish to believe in that campaign. In fact, the BJP’s victory in this by-election is a slap on the face of those ruling parties that think that merely doling out a cash incentive just a week before the election will fetch them victories!
Eetala Rajender and the BJP, on their part, stuck to the basics. They campaigned door to door and successfully explained the injustice meted out to Eetala; about the arrogance of KCR and the TRS party; as to why Eetala chose to join the BJP instead of contesting as an independent; and why a vote to the BJP will further strengthen the party as opposed to KCR’s family rule.
The bye-election result also calls for a discussion on the capability of KCR’s son, Mr K. Tarakarama Rao (KTR). After the stupendous 2018 Assembly victory, KCR appointed his son KTR as the Working President of the party – thereby divesting a lot of authority to his son. Ever since KTR has presided over a snubbing in the 2019 LS election victory; a major loss in the GHMC election; a loss in the all-important Dubbaka bye-election and now the loss in the Huzurabad bye-election. The only victory of significance that KTR has presided over, is the sweep of local body polls in early 2020. In fact, KCR had to personally step in and strategize for the MLC elections and another Assembly by-poll that the TRS won. KTR is a darling of the media, especially the English media. He is also called just a Twitter star because his polished language on Twitter keeps him in the good books of the media. Electoral results on the ground have so far not matched his English language skills
The frustration of KTR is evident in his reaction to the election result this time – “In the last 20 years TRS has seen many highs and lows & this one election result will not be of much significance or consequence”. It is one thing to boost the morale of the cadre by talking about the highs & lows but it’s a whole new level of arrogance to say that “one election result will not be of much significance” when it was quite evident how important his dad thought this poll was!
There are many such examples of childish responses by KTR to the arguments put forth by the opposition. His most recent reaction to a familiar argument often put forth by the opposition, sums up why the public doesn’t take his arguments serious enough. The opposition often accuses KCR of furthering his family rule over the state (KCR is the CM; his son KTR has multiple portfolios; his nephew Harish Rao is Finance minister; his daughter Kavitha is an MLC; his nephew Santosh is an RS MP and is often seen by his side). KTR’s counter to this argument was that if Telangana is under a family rule, then is India being ruled by Gujaratis? This bye-election result must push the TRS party into introspecting if KTR needs to be given such important roles in the party.
For the BJP, this victory is another shot in the arm for all the hard work the party has been doing in Telangana. The Congress party is in great self-destruct mode. The BJP has done well to relegate it to 3rd position. The next two years are going to be arduous, and the BJP has to be careful not to repeat a West Bengal scenario. It would really help the party to study the West Bengal scenario and avoid those mistakes here.
Remember, even with this victory, the BJP still has only 3 seats in the 119-member assembly. It is important for them to get the right political leaders from other parties to expand on their base (For example, Eetala needed the BJP as much as BJP needed him). It is important for them to diversify their message, just like they did in the multiple elections they have won so far. It is also important for them to learn from the defeats they’ve had so far too. KCR isn’t an easy rival to have, though he has shown umpteen times how he is prone to arrogance of power. He still is going to be in power for 2 more years and can change things on the ground. One thing is for sure – the BJP has risen to be a principal opposition to the mighty KCR. The next 2 years are going to be exciting to watch (and participate!).
