From the voter turnout in the bypolls held on 27th, it seems the results will go in favor of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti headed by Mr K Chandrasekhara Rao. The TRS is likely to romp home to victory in all the seats, and the Bharatiya Janata Party may come up trumps in Nizamabad Urban. The TRS chief has reason to smile. However, it has to be seen whether the Sri Krishna Commission will give weight to this electoral victory. In fact, the Congress and TDP may say that the TRS and the BJP got back what they put into the fray. That being true, losing a seat or two may push the TRS into the defensive. That seems to be unlikely now. Just how ‘offensive’ he will get now is to be seen.
Let us consider the scenario that may unfold. The BJP and the TRS can get closer, and work together in the forthcoming elections. The coalition will be a strong contender for Telangana’s first government, when the time comes. The BJP has always been in favor of smaller states, and in fact formed Chattisgarh (out of Madhya Pradesh), Uttaranchal (out of Uttar Pradesh) and Jharkhand (out of Bihar). The original larger states with their voter structures favor a party like Congress, while smaller states benefit the BJP, which don’t have a state-wide appeal in Andhra Pradesh and say, Bihar. If the BJP had not contested together with the TDP in 2004, the TRS would have been their natural ally, and instead of going with the Congress, KCR would have gladly teamed up with them. Of course, things look different in hindsight.
Even now it is not too late for the two (TRS and BJP) to come together and have a poll alliance in 2014 (or even before, if the Congress so decides). A ‘majority’ of the people in Telangana have suffered in the past at the hands of the erstwhile rulers of the Hyderabad state. Many, even in the new generation will have a clear predilection for the BJP; together with the pro-Telangana voter share, the combine could pull off a poll victory. This is again in the realm of speculation.
Meantime, D Srinivas, the Pradesh Congress Chief, seems to be in trouble. He campaigned in Nizamabad Urban with the slogan that he will get a ‘big’ job if he is elected. Here again, the voter turn out indicates that his BJP rival may laugh all the way to the assembly. DS’s ploy may not work and his future is in doldrums. This is not the end of the road for DS, who is a great survivor – but it is definitely a set back for him.
Jagan’s Swan Song
Mr Y Jaganmohan Reddy is all set to sing his political swan song today. We hear that some 20-odd MLAs are with him at the time of going to press. That is much less than the 30 he would need to make the Congress party worry. They wouldn’t even require the support of the Praja Rajyam Party. In fact, under the circumstances the TDP may not even force Mr K Rosaiah for a show of strength on the floor of the assembly. The main opposition party’s mouthpiece is after the irregularities of Jagan and his late lamented father: the current CM seems inclined to dig up those things. It seems that Mr K Roasaiah enjoys quite a cozy equation with his political rival, Mr N Chandrababu Naidu.
One thing is clear, between the two of them, over the past couple of weeks, they have succeeded in getting Jagan out of the limelight. It is like drawing a longer line to make the existing line shorter: in these days of ‘fifteen minutes of fame’, Jagan has had his due. Now it is over to Mr Naidu and Mr K Rosaiah, and their histrionics over Babli.
Bottomline: Tomorrow is going to unfold the future of many an individual and parties.
No comments:
Post a Comment