Opinion:

KCR, the TRS party President and the Chief Minister of Telangana, after dilly dallying over the choice of alliance with other like minded parties against the BJP for over three years, has finally announced a national party, by changing his party's name to Bharatha Rastra Samith(BRS) on October 6, 2022. KCR has been toying with the idea of pushing himself onto the national stage for quite a long  time , so that his son can ascend to the throne in the State. The parleys he conducted with leaders of other States to form a  Federal Front before 2019 general elections were fired by this ambition.

He did not find the situation ripe to go ahead with his plan then. But later, political situation started changing swiftly in the state beginning with Dubbaka Assembly bye-election. Emboldened by the win in Dubbaka, the BJP has intensified its aggressive campaign sending shivers down the spine of top leadership of TRS.  Further, the BJP  has received a big shot in the arm when it had won in a big way  in the GHMC elections and also in the Huzurabad bye-election.  The central leadership and also the state leadership of BJP have hence intensified their campaign to take over the bastion of TRS.  Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao, the Chief Minister and TRS party president also started to feel the tremors. To safeguard his home turf from the challenge by the  BJP, KCR had to choose a stratagem and that is the BRS. The divisive policies pursued by the  NDA government have also created a space for the new party.

What is in store for BRS? The Bharathiya Janatha Party which came to power at the center with absolute majority in 2014 and improved it's tally in the consecutive second term in 2019 is of late  loosing sheen steadily. It has failed miserably to deliver on the flagship slogan: Minimum Government – Maximum Governance , on which it rode to power in 2014. Public disenchantment with the BJP Government is rapidly growing across the country. The situation is ripe to dislodge BJP from power if at all there is a formidable opposition. Thus, BRS is birthed at the right time viewed from this perspective. 

But, what are the chances for the BRS to emerge as an alternative? Even a wild guess is a difficult one to make. To be a challenger to BJP at national level , the nascent BRS party needs to find takers in other states of the country and win at least one fourth of total Lok sabha seats. That seems fantastic even for a dream!  What possibility lies ahead for the BRS in the event it fails to get nil or meager electoral gains in other states and remains as a regional outfit in true sense winning considerable number of Loksabha seats in its own state of Telangana in 2024 elections?

Deplorably, no light at the end of tunnel situation. In the absence of no single party challenger to the BJP at the center, which is most likely, the way forward might be coalition, an option KCR weighed in deciding to parade his regional party as a national party.

Coalition governments at the center in the past did not leave sweet memories in the minds of Indian voters. The reasons for the parties in the coalition to fall apart midway was the lack of cohesion, ideological divergences , conflicting regional aspirations, clash of personal ambitions among the leaders. 

The road ahead does not look much different and in fact look more difficult this time. The Congress  party that was dislodged from power earlier is in shambles and can at the most be a partner in the coalition, if ever, coalition becomes necessary. The opposition parties who have been troubled by the BJP Government in every conceivable manner are desparate to displace  BJP, which is different in many ways than the Congress of 1977.  The BJP has strong political muscle, enormous money power and above all successfully ignited the false notion of national pride and religious sentiments playing on the religious susceptibilities of the people. Thus, it is capable of hoodwinking parties that now swear to oppose it. The hard fact to digest is that not many opposition parties oppose BJP on the grounds of principles. The opposition is largely driven by self interests. Many of these parties who vow to act against BJP may not bat an eyelid in shifting their loyalties to BJP and BRS may not be an exception.

The gloomy scenario can be averted if the  Congress party emerges victorious by pocketing reasonably good number of parliament seats  in 2024 and others join it in coalition as minor partners. This was the secret behind the successful completion of their terms in the office by  UPA I and UPA II, and is also the truth behind why parties joined the bandwagon led by the BJP.  

Given the not-so-satisfactory way the country was ruled by the single party during the last two terms, the million dollar question is, can the BRS play any decisive role along with other anti-BJP parties in convincing the people to demolish the juggernaut of the ruling party and pave the way for forming a Government that will be more representative of the people's aspirations and needs? 

Hari Murthy
Hyderabad