TRS heading for an implosion

As an expert in Emotional Intelligence, I was expecting this day would certainly come hunting the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). It is the party's fundamental construct and the leadership style which is leading the party towards a possible implosion.

Chief Minister of Telangana and TRS president K Chandrashekar Rao cannot blame anyone for the public revolt that his senior leaders are driving and a public spectacle the TRS has become with open organisational dissent.

The TRS is a party which was born out of an emotional sentiment for separate statehood. During its formative years, it united all streams of population in Telangana from students, youth, women, farmers, employees, intellectuals, poets, artists, backward and oppressed classes to drive a singular agenda of separate statehood.

The BJP, with its unwavering support to Telangana's cause and its ideology of smaller States for better administration, has ensured the formation of Telangana State. Without the BJP support in both the Houses of Parliament, Telangana State formation would not have been possible.

Chandrashekar Rao, as the leader of the TRS, did contribute to the separate statehood cause with his relentless propaganda. However, neither he nor his party can claim they have achieved it by themselves.

The agitation was led by common people from all walks of life since 1969 and they are the ones which eventually made it possible, through their relentless struggle for statehood.

The BJP fought alongside the people individually and through Joint Action Committee (JAC). With its strength in Parliament, it could help achieve Telangana State constitutionally.

The BJP did not time its decision to suit political expediency, it stood like a rock for its commitment to the people of Telangana.

Chandrashekar Rao, after effectively pitching in the 2014 election campaign that his party alone achieved Telangana and using a massive political will working against the Congress nationally in 2014, came to power in Telangana State.

During the election campaign 2014, Chandrashekar Rao also sold a new dream 'Bangaru Telangana' to the voters of Telangana. People chose Chandrashekar Rao and the TRS with a new aspiration of speedy and inclusive development.

That dream unfortunately remained unfulfilled till date with Chandrashekar Rao's mis-governance.

Hopes of Telangana State were dashed to the ground right from the first year of Chandrashekar Rao's governance. Instead of using a historic opportunity to drive a well-planned, all-round development of the State, Chandrashekar Rao went about doing politics, politics, and more politics in his entire term.

From decimating the TDP and weakening the Congress party by promoting active defections, the TRS government only set national records in defections and constitutional violations throughout its last term.

Neither welfare nor development has found any priority in Chandrashekar Rao's governance.

He could not build a strong team of planners and executors in his entire term, resulting in unplanned administration and finances, leading to neither inclusive development nor social justice.

Politically, the huge inflows of cadre and leaders into the TRS from the TDP and the Congress has changed the generic dynamics of the TRS since 2014.

TRS has transformed from a revolutionary party with people's agenda to a petty regional political party with a family power agenda.

An emotionally intelligent Chandrashekar Rao has led the rise of the TRS by driving emotional energies of Telangana people for its rise to power.

Not just once, but twice. However, losing out on other critical aspects of E I (emotional intelligence) Chandrashekar Rao is now in the midst of facing an unprecedented revolt since the TRS' inception in 2001.

This revolt coming especially from the top of the organisational pyramid is critical to this political analysis.

Eatala Rajender, Health Minister in the TRS government has exploded in public directly on Chandrashekar Rao. He quipped that he did not need to beg anyone for Ministry, and he deserved it.

He claimed that the TRS was owned by the likes of him, who fought for Telangana. It was a direct attack by Rajender on the family control of the TRS by Chandrashekar Rao. He also raised the issue of self-respect and self-worth of individual leaders in the TRS.

The timing and location of the salvos fired by this senior Minister of the KCR Cabinet establish, that the revolt on Chandrashekar Rao is not spur of the moment. It was certainly brewing for long.

The uprising coming from a highly respected TRS leader, who is from backward classes, with a background of working in extreme leftist movements adds fuel to the fire.

He, being a senior Cabinet colleague, expands the revolt from within the party to the government.

In less than a week, MLA Rasamai Balakishan, former Minister Nayini Narasimha Reddy and other important voices started rising loudly and clearly against the hard fisted TRS supremo Chandrashekar Rao.

The pattern certainly is not pointing at just 'a storm in the tea cup.' It is pointing to something big on the way.

Invalidation, inaccessibility and fascist centralisation of power seems to be the core drivers of the ensuing revolt. By the way, it looks like it has been brewing silently in the corridors of Telangana Bhavan (TRS party HQ) for the past two to three years.

It seems, the second coming of Chandrashekar Rao in 2018 elections has only delayed this revolt.

From a fully accessible mass leader to a zero access Chief Minister, Chandrashekar Rao's transition into a new age demi-god was instant, after attaining power in 2014.

Leave alone the cadre, key party leaders, MLAs, MPs and Ministers do not have access to the Chief Minister and party president. There is no two way communication nor there is validation of any form of expression by Chandrashekar Rao in the last six years.

It has naturally led to bottling up of complex emotions, which found no let-out at any level in the party organisation.

Unexpressed emotions always find their own way out, certainly not in a desirable manner. That's what is underway in the TRS now, bottled up emotional expression is finding its way out in the form of a revolt.

The TRS continues to be bursting at seams with consistent defections from the Congress party. No wonder, the simmering dissent from the original TRS leaders and cadre is now at the forefront of the revolt.

These anti-establishment voices have a contagious effect and can lead to massive implosion in the TRS sooner than later.

(The writer is chief spokesperson of the BJP, Telangana State unit. He is also an organisational strategist and an author. Views expressed are personal)