How Bharat Rashtra Samithi misplaced its sheen to the Congress

The tone and tenor of the Lok Sabha election in Telangana has undergone a change because the Congress’ victory simply 4 months in the past within the December 2023 Meeting election. After two phrases as Chief Minister, Okay. Chandrashekar Rao of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), previously often known as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), misplaced that election. KCR, as he’s broadly identified, spearheaded the demand for a separate State, with the TRS serving as its political platform since its inception in 2001. Nonetheless, what started as a sentiment for a separate State was household pursuits.

Within the first election after the formation of the State in 2014, the TRS received 65 Meeting seats out of 119 and 11 Lok Sabha seats out of 17 (34 per cent vote share). After authorities formation, it consolidated its place by admitting MLAs who had defected from the Congress and the Telugu Desam Social gathering (TDP) into the TRS.

Throughout its first time period, the TRS authorities launched a sequence of welfare schemes reminiscent of Rythu Bandhu with an goal to offer farmers Rs.4,000 an acre in every agricultural season to purchase seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and for labour costs, coupled with an insurance coverage protection of Rs.5 lakh. Moreover, the federal government launched social pensions for senior residents, the bodily handicapped, widows, toddy tappers, weavers, AIDS sufferers, beedi staff, poor and aged artisans, and single ladies. It additionally focussed on infrastructure for water retention capability and groundwater services and on offering secure ingesting water to each village. Different welfare measures included monetary assist to pregnant ladies and woman youngsters, mom and child kits, common periodic eye check-ups, a double-bedroom home for the below-poverty-line beneficiaries, well being playing cards, and marriage assist for younger ladies of poor households.

Welfare schemes

With overwhelming assist from rural individuals, it received once more in 2018, in an election superior by 4 months, defeating the Congress and the BJP to safe 88 seats (47 per cent vote share) within the Meeting. This marked a acquire of 25 seats and 13 proportion factors of the vote share from the earlier election. In accordance with the CSDS-Lokniti post-poll survey, as many as 55 per cent of ladies and 49 per cent of males, from amongst the beneficiaries of the welfare schemes, voted for the TRS. Within the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the TRS received 9 seats with 47 per cent of the votes.

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In its second time period, the TRS authorities intensified the welfare schemes, together with direct profit transfers (DBTs) and non-DBTS. Amongst 360 schemes, 78 per cent had been service-related, 14 per cent had been DBTs, and eight per cent coated different features. The goal group of those schemes included the poorest of the poor, ladies, the bodily challenged, college students, youngsters, senior residents, sufferers, orphans, transgenders, landless labourers, farmers, beedi staff, rural artisans, and so forth. Center-class beneficiaries included journalists, advocates, workers of the Singareni coalmine, Highway Transport Company workers, medical doctors, nurses, Asha and anganwadi staff, site visitors police, and residential guards. These schemes had been prolonged to all social classes such because the Scheduled Castes (SC), the Scheduled Tribes (ST), the Backward Lessons, even Brahmins, and Muslims, Christians, and Buddhists.

BRS Chief Okay Chandrashekar Rao greets individuals throughout a roadshow in Warangal on April 29, 2024.

Regardless of all these schemes, the BRS obtained a drubbing within the 2023 Meeting election, with the variety of seats decreasing to 39 and the vote share to 37 per cent. The debacle was attributed to a sequence of things reminiscent of rampant corruption, unemployment, and non-completion of half of the welfare schemes like double-bedroom housing, the injury to the Medigadda elevate irrigation mission, query paper leaks, and irregularities in Telangana State Public Service Fee recruitments. There have been additionally criticisms towards the federal government for its failure to develop the talents of the State’s youth for IT jobs in Hyderabad, the neglect of tenancy farmers, and inaccessibility of KCR to the widespread individuals and even elected representatives.

In accordance with S. Laxman Rao and S. Harinath of the Centre for Financial and Social Research, Hyderabad, a number of components contributed to the BRS’ fall. It contains corruption, irregularities, a number of advantages to the identical household, exclusion of landless labour from the welfare schemes, and the privileges given to absentee landlords in getting big quantities of Rythu Bandhu advantages. As well as, there have been complaints that rural and concrete native our bodies had develop into defunct due to the denial of funds, capabilities, and functionaries.

The CSDS-Lokniti post-poll survey, performed in December 2023, discovered that of the 80 per cent of the Rythu Bandhu beneficiaries solely 43 per cent voted for the BRS whereas 45 per cent voted for the Congress. Of the 76 per cent beneficiaries of 24×7 free energy provide, 44 per cent voted for the BRS and 45 per cent for the Congress. As many as 46 per cent of the respondents stated that corruption had elevated throughout BRS’ rule.

A place of power

The Congress, regardless of being a number one associate of the UPA authorities, which handed the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act, 2014, for the formation of Telangana State, received solely 21 Meeting seats (25.2 per cent) and two Lok Sabha seats that yr. It received 19 Meeting seats (28.4 per cent) within the 2018 Meeting election and three Lok Sabha seats within the 2019 parliamentary election (29.48 per cent).

Within the 2023 Meeting election, the Congress moved to a place of power by attacking the BRS authorities over its failures within the implementation of welfare schemes, corruption, irregularities within the TSPSC, and household rule and nepotism. Rahul Gandhi’s padayatra, an environment friendly celebration management on the State stage, and the victory in Karnataka gave it an additional thrust. All these components put collectively contributed to its victory in 64 seats with a 39.4 vote share. Within the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Congress is aspiring for a double digit victory.

The Bharatiya Janata Social gathering received simply 5 Meeting seats (10 per cent) and one Lok Sabha seat in 2014 (10.37 per cent). Nonetheless, its tally diminished to 1 seat within the Meeting (7 per cent) in 2018. Within the 2019 Lok Sabha election, it received 4 seats (19.45 per cent).

Within the Better Hyderabad Municipal Company (GHMC) election for 150 corporators in 2020, the BJP received 47 seats. In Meeting byelections that yr, it received two extra seats. Within the 2023 Meeting election, the BJP received eight seats (13.9 per cent). It hopes to enhance its Lok Sabha tally to 10 this time.

The AIMIM, identified for its Muslim id politics, has an extended observe file of profitable the Lok Sabha seat from the Hyderabad constituency and 7 Meeting constituencies in it.

Coming after a spot of 4 months after the Meeting election, the Lok Sabha election (April 11-Could 13) is one to be keenly watched. The BRS is a weak power with the defection of its MLAs, MPs and the celebration cadre to the Congress and the BJP and the arrest of KCR’s daughter Okay. Kavitha within the Delhi liquor coverage case. Analysts say the BRS vote share will decline to lower than 20 per cent. As for the Congress and the BJP, it’s a take a look at of their ensures within the type of Nyay patru and Sankalp patru.

Congress mannequin of growth

The Congress’ strengths embrace its incumbent place and the profitable implementation of the 4 ensures out of six promised throughout the Meeting election: the Mahalakshmi scheme without cost journey of ladies in street transport buses, gasoline subsidy, Rythubarosa, and Gruhajyoti without cost electrical energy. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has promised that his authorities would waive off loans of as much as Rs.2 lakh to farmers by August 15, 2024.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy in Hyderabad.
| Photograph Credit score:
RAMAKRISHNA G

In the meantime, the All India Congress Committee, incorporating the experiences of Karnataka and Telangana, has declared the manifesto with its concentrate on the Congress mannequin of growth. It seems to be geared toward connecting with native social teams. Due to this fact, the Congress appears assured of sweeping the Lok Sabha seats in south Telangana and placing up a robust combat with the BJP in central and north Telangana. The Congress’ weak spot lies in its neglect of the Backward Lessons class in ticket distribution.

In accordance with the Srikrishna Committee Report (2010), which was constituted by the Union authorities to check the prevailing state of affairs for separate State demand in composite Andhra Pradesh, the demographic profile for Telangana was as follows: the Scheduled Castes (SC) 15.8 per cent, the Scheduled Tribes (ST) 8.9 per cent, the Backward Lessons 50.7 per cent, Different Castes 10.7 per cent, Muslims 12.4 per cent, and others 1.5 per cent.

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Within the modified situation, in just a few parliamentary constituencies reminiscent of Malkajgiri, each the BJP and the Congress candidates are former BRS leaders. As an illustration, Eatela Rajender, who’s contesting from Malkajgiri on the BJP ticket, was Minister for Income and Well being for 2 phrases within the KCR Cupboard. He converted to the BJP following variations with the BRS supremo and was defeated within the 2023 Meeting election as a BJP candidate. The Congress candidate from right here is Patnam Sunitha Reddy, the chairperson of a Zilla Parishad from the BRS; she joined the Congress simply earlier than the present election.

The BJP’s Telangana State management is banking on the Central authorities’s achievements in 10 years and Narendra Modi’s ensures, together with the Viksit Bharat idea by 2047. The BJP, other than accommodating former BRS members, has recognised the Backward Lessons within the distribution of tickets. The Backward Lessons vote financial institution was polarised amongst three events throughout the Meeting election. The SCs and STs, and Muslims and the Reddies have all the time rooted for the Congress; the BJP has the higher castes as its core supporters. As such, the BJP’s efficiency relies upon to a fantastic extent on the Backward Lessons.

E. Venkatesu teaches on the Division of Political Science, College of Hyderabad.