Editors' Pick

Munugodu and 2024 Assembly elections 

In Telangana Assembly elections are for away. But now itself we can wager that Telangana Rashtra Samithi will be the winner as the first past the post.It may not win hands down as it did the second time.  It will have to put up a struggle. 
There are four factors,  some strong and some weak, that necessitate the intensification of efforts by the TRS for a sure fire victory. 
First among them is that the Congress has doubled down on its programs to win. It's criticism of late is eye catching. But unfortunately, the leadership is still weak and wobbly. Congress is notorious for its internal squabbles and disunity. No wonder largest number of leaders who joined the TRS  are from Congress. There are mainly two groups namely the upper caste leaders and those belong to non-upper castes who work at cross purposes and some of the latter group, despite their capabilities and contribution are being sidelined.
 Whatever the gains Revanth Reddy, the new man in charge, gained through  perpatatic convassing, he has frittered away with his comment in favour of Reddy community which is bound to distance the sizable chunk of other communities. Recently in a cartoon showing Rahul Gandhi being grilled by CBI, Sonia is shown asking the interrogater why they were harassing her son who was helping BJP through his self subversive opposition.

The one and only offer by the Congress of an annual payment of Rs.72000 into the accounts of each BPL family  which was even approved albeit with demure  by even some Nobel prize winners did not cut ice with the people at the earlier National elections and even in Kerala. The Congress doesn't have any specific policy measures that do not have parallels in TRS dispensation. They are just throwing accusations without proof. Even the BJP which has all the investigating institutions in its pocket is not able to pin down any leader of the TRS on corruption though it's leader harps on corruption charges ad nausiam. 

The second factor that can pose a threat to TRS victory is the virulent attack by Bandi Sanjay and his exogenous supporters at the center. This party has been trying to defame TRS the same way BJP-1  did to the Congress by highlighting of corruption. BJP succeeded then because already the Congress shot itself in foot by allowing prosecution against its own coalition members and some of its own owing to internal disunity which grew since then. 
But the only difference is that so far none of the ministerial functioneries of the TRS is being arraigned. Having failed to draw the blood this way, BJP has begun to play communal card which failed to work as KCR has cleverly forestslled such exploitation by following syncretic measures through co- opting the MIM and placating other minorities.
The other ploy BJP employed to undermine the development in the State was never a starter for the various visible evidences like increased GDP -7th in the country- far ahead of many BJP ruled States. Besides TRS has succeeded in calling the BJP claims of helping the State in development a bluff very effectively exposing that none of the promises made consequent on bifurcation of the State were kept. In fact many of the schemes of the center like frebies to farmers, provision of drinking water, infrastructure development, ease of doing business were modelled on the TRS  policies. How could the BJP expect to win confidence of the Telangana people when it cold shouldered  the recommendation Niti Aayog for payment of  thousands of crores for the unique programs of the TRS such as Kakatiya Mission and Mission Bhageeratha. Even Maharastra leader Mr Wankhde praised to the sky the accomplishments of the TRS Government.

The third factor is that of entry of the daughter of Rajashekar Reddy to cash on his goodwill among the people which was quite high in the early days of the formation of the State but was long overshadowed by much more efficient and inclusively penetrating policies of the TRS. Even the rayalaseema voters who are in sizable numbers in GHMC have already been befriended by KCR by the means that the former could relate to better. So, Sharmila Reddy and her party is quite unlikely to even split the vote bank of TRS and she will cut a sorry figure having already burnt her fingures at the home front.

Efforts to hijack dalit vote by Bahujan Samajwadi Party by dangling the same community leader R S Praveen Kumar, a dynamic former IPS officer, is the fourth factor that may play opposition threat to the TRS at the hustings particularly in the light of the fact that Dalits constitute 20 percent of voters, quite a clinching share. But KCR, an expert reader of tea leaves, neutralized it by announcing Dalit Bandu and raising reservation to STs to 10 per cent.

The constant refrain of the opposition criticism is that the power is concentrated in the KCR family hands is definitely not acceptable to the public because the two cabinet ministers, KTR and Harish Rao from the family have proved their mettle through hard work as could be witnessed from the visible development in the ministries they held such as irrigation, health, urban development, industrial development. The IT sector which propels very high concomitant growth in other sectors has grown by leaps and bounds. 

Whatever may be the outcome of forthcoming Munugodu election, it is not going to influence the result of the 2024 Assembly elections in any significant way despite disproportionate focus being lavished on it by the BJP; TRS will win though it will have to face anti- incumbency, ironically thanks to its good performance that has raised the hopes of all sections of people, all of which cannot be satisfied in two terms and some disgruntled elements may look other way. TRS is already on the job to identify such elements and win their confidence.

Dr M H Prasad Rao 
Sircilla