Hyderabad; After toil and sweat it was the time for 64-year-old K. Chandrasekhar Rao to bask in glory. The architect of Telangana state known for his political acumen and sharp mind, KCR was given a hero’s welcome by his supporters and admirers as he returned to his official residence in Hyderabad from his farm house at Erraveli village as his party was shattering records and proving all detractors wrong by achieving an unprecedented victory in the state assembly elections.
There is no doubt that the entire credit for the overwhelming victory of TRS belongs to KCR who undertook a whirlwind tour of the entire state and addressed as many 90 election rallies touching almost all the constituencies across the state.
Starting from dissolving the state assembly on September 6 to pave the way for fresh elections nine months before they were due, every move was calculated and precisely planned to checkmate the opposition, though midway the opposition appeared to have outsmarted him with two bitter and old rivals Congress and Telugu Desam joining hands. The People’s alliance appeared strong on paper as their combined vote share of 2014 was way ahead of TRS but in the end the astute KCR turned the weakness into his strength to create a scare of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu ruling Telangana through remote control.
While many thought Congress may benefit from the alliance with the TDP, KCR, through his effective communication, turned the alliance into an asset by alleging, “Congress is bringing a known enemy of Telangana into the state on its shoulders”.
Apparently the idea of Congress joining hands with a party closely identified with the alleged exploitation of Telangana did not go down well with the masses.
While the Praja Kutami, as the alliance was known, ran a negative campaign targeting KCR’s “corrupt family rule” and Congress president Rahul Gandhi ridiculed KCR as “Khao Commission Rao” to highlight alleged corruption, the masses were impressed by what TRS government did over the last four-and-a-half years. KCR’s well thought out strategy of benefiting at least one member of every family through a slew of welfare schemes — costing a whopping Rs520 billion (Dh26.55 billion) — paid off handsomely.
During a criss-cross journey of the state passing through villages it was obvious that the poorest of the poor were happy with the financial support they were getting from the government in the form of regularly monthly pensions for the widows, aged and the destitute.
While Congress talked of farmers suicide the massive support TRS got in the rural areas made it clear that the farmers were more happy today than even before with the availability of 24/7 free electricity and Rs8000 per acre annual investment support.
Women were also satisfied with his various other initiatives including “Amma Vodi” or KCR Kits for the pregnant women which ensured financial support as well as medical care.
Minorities, who constituted 13 per cent of the electorate, once again solidly stood with KCR though his major promise of 12 per cent reservation remained unfulfilled due to the obstruction from the central government.
Though there was a lot of talk of Muslim votes getting divided between TRS and Congress, the aggressive campaign by MIM in support of TRS ensured that it did not happen. For the first time, MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi personally campaigned in support of another party and cemented the friendship between two parties.
While undoubtedly there were shortcomings and failure like the inability to fulfil some key promises of 2014- jobs for the youth and 2.2 million double bedroom houses for the poor, people saw KCR as a well meaning, hard working and trust worthy, especially compared to his opponents who appeared more worried about whom among them will be the next Chief Minister.
For KCR, 2018 victory marks a major landmark in his more than four decades long political journey. Starting with Congress, KCR came into his own when he joined the newly launched regional Telugu Desam Party of film star NT Rama Rao and earned his affection. After suffering defeat in first assembly election in 1983, he won from Siddipet in four consecutive elections and went on to serve in the cabinets of NTR and then N Chandrababu Naidu.
However, 1999 polls marked a turning point in his career as Naidu kept him out of cabinet and made his deputy speaker of assembly. Seeing it as an affront and insult KCR resigned from the post and the party and revived the long dormant movement for separate Telangana.
Ignoring all the barbs of his opponents, he built a powerful movement from scratch, mobilising support from all sections, forcing the Indian government to concede the six-decade-old demand of granting statehood to Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.
Riding on an emotional wave, he led his Telangana Rashtra Samiti party to power in India’s youngest state. Results of the 2018 elections show his magic and appeal remains strong and can sway the masses.
While his felicity with Telugu, English, Urdu and Hindi makes his a mesmerising speaker, his family remains his weak point. While his preference to his son and daughter in the matters of party and governance often led to sharp criticism, the latest victory will ensure that things will remain the same and he would continue to groom his only son K Taraka Rama Rao as his successor.
