From Non-Cong 3rd Front to Going Nat'l, KCR Steps Beyond T'gana with 'Bharat Rashtra Samithi'. Why Now?
By: News Desk
Edited By: Geetha Srimathi Sreenivasan
Last Updated: October 05, 2022, 13:58 IST
Hyderabad, India
Telangana CM KCR hosted breakfast for party MLAs, HD Kumaraswamy, and Thol Thirumavalavan ahead of his national party launch. (Image: News18)
Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao has been actively mulling a national alternative to the ruling BJP at the Centre, soon after he won his second consecutive victory in the 2018 assembly polls
- Follow us:
As the clock struck 1.19 p.m. on Wednesday, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao made his long-standing dream of stepping into national politics come true by launching 'Bharat Rashtra Samithi', a new version of his Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) party. If one could take a message from this careful selection of auspicious timing, it wouldn't be wrong to say that the national party is of great importance to KCR ahead of the 2024 general elections.
A festive mood gripped TRS workers ahead of the launch with a Warangal-based party leader distributing chickens and liquor to 200 workers, wishing a grand success to KCR in his bid to go beyond Telangana.
On Wednesday morning, former Karnataka chief minister H. D. Kumaraswamy, president of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) Tholkappiyan Thirumavalavan, and TRS MLAs joined KCR for breakfast at the Pragati Bhavan in Hyderabad. Thirumavalavan is a Member of Parliament from Chidambaram constituency and is a prominent Dalit leader.
Rao has been actively mulling a national alternative to the ruling BJP at the Centre, soon after he won his second consecutive victory in the 2018 assembly polls.
So Why Now?
First things first. Rao's national party will be the first from two Telugu states – Andhra Pradesh and Telangana – to be converted into a national party.
Rao's move to accelerate his political fight against the BJP coincides with the announcement of schedule for Munugode by-poll in Telangana by the Election Commission. The polling is scheduled to be held on November 3 and votes would be counted on November 6.
The TRS, in its foundation day event in April this year, had resolved that the party should play a key role in national politics in the interest of the country as the BJP is "exploiting communal sentiments," for its political convenience.
The launch of the national party also comes at the time of the rise of BJP in Telangana polity. In 2020, the BJP emerged as a force to reckon with in Hyderabad civic polls and also won Assembly constituencies in by-polls held to segments including Huzurabad. BJP leaders have been vigorously focusing on Telangana as part of the party's efforts to expand its footprint in southern parts of the country.
Rao has been touring the country over the past few months to garner support for the new phase of his party. Last month, the TRS district unit presidents had called upon Rao to take a plunge into national politics to put an end to BJP's alleged anti-people rule at the Centre.
Rao, who had recently met his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar in Patna, called for a "BJP mukt Bharat" (BJP-free India) blaming the national party's government at the Centre for the many ills plaguing the country.
In a public meeting in Nizamabad on September 6, Rao said, "People are calling me to national politics. I am going there with your (people's) blessings. We should fight for BJP-mukt Bharat. A non-BJP government will come to power after the 2024 elections. We will develop the country just like our state has developed."
'Bharat Rashtra Samithi' Plans
A JD(S) functionary recently told news agency PTI that the new outfit would be a "conglomeration of various regional parties," that are fighting the BJP in their respective states. "The idea is to put up a united fight against the BJP. Basically, it's a combination of various regional parties who want to rise above their political differences and come together," the JD(S) leader said.
On September 5, Rao had announced that free power would be supplied to farmers across the country, if a non-BJP government was voted to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He also batted for rights of vulnerable sections of the society.
"Nothing has been done for the Dalits, weaker sections, and women. The Centre has failed in all spheres of the country. They are always trying to create hatred among the people in the name of religion. How long should we fight like this? People have to think about it. We need a change," he said.
On September 12, the Chief Minister made some reference to the proposed national party for the first time while speaking in the Legislative Assembly.
Party sources told PTI TRS would focus on welfare schemes being implemented in Telangana like 'Rythu Bandhu' support scheme for farmers and 'Dalit Bandhu' (Rs 10 lakh grant to every Dalit household to start any business or trade).
Similar schemes have not been devised and implemented at the national level and the BJP has also dubbed welfare initiatives as "freebies." Electricity has not been provided in all the villages, across the country and all such aspects would be taken up in the campaign to expose the ruling party at the Centre, the sources had said.
In what could be the first major appearance of Rao at the "national" level, the Telangana CM will hold a public meeting in Delhi on December 9. He has been seeking to promote peace and communal harmony in the country.
Read all the Latest Politics News and Breaking News here
comment 0 Comments
more_vert