Bus Yatra from today Will form next govt: Uttam

The Telangana Pradesh Congress, which expects the general election by the end of this year, is preparing to take on the ruling TRS by its horns. To begin with, TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy and other leaders of the party will be undertaking a bus yatra in Telangana. Christened as ‘Praja Chaitanya Yatra’, the tour will begin from Chevella in Ranga Reddy district on Monday. 

• Cong confident of winning over 70 seats

In an exclusive interview with The Hans India, Uttam Kumar Reddy oozes confidence that the Congress will ride to power effortlessly in the next election. He is sure that the Congress will win more than 70 seats out of the 119 seats in the state though the Congress’ target is more than 90 seats.

The Congress may be down, but it is not out. It will win the next elections in Telangana State hands down. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is fast losing people’s support.  This is the opinion of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee President N Uttam Kumar Reddy, in a nutshell.
Excerpts from an exclusive interview with him a day ahead of Bus Yatra – christened Praja Chaitanya Yatra – on February 26 to sensitise people on why they should elect the Congress in the next election.

What are the prospects of the Congress in the next election?
I am sure it is going to be a convincing victory. KCR is not the same leader as he was in 2014 elections.  At that time people looked at him as the face of Telangana. In four years, he had squandered the credibility that the people had reposed in him. He may have done something for people, but his nemesis would be his and his family’s arrogance. In Telangana people tolerate anything but arrogance. Police and Forest officials have become a law unto themselves. Take for instance, Nerella (police beat up Dalits), Bhupalpally (Forest officials tied tribal women to trees), Khammam (police handcuffed farmers) incidents. Do you think these sections would vote for him again?

Where do you think you are strong in Telangana?
Take south Telangana. The Congress will make a sweep. In north Telangana too, it is not the same as it was in 2014. In Adilabad, TRS is going to suffer a major dent. In rural Ranga Reddy, Congress now has a better traction. In South Telangana, there will be no turning back for the Congress. I am sure of winning not less than 70 seats though we target over 90 of the total 119.

What makes you think you are going to get that kind of support?
People are now disillusioned with the KCR’s performance. The family rule apart, KCR’s much touted big-ticket schemes have come unstuck. Double bedroom flats, three-acre land parcels to Dalits, increase in reservations for STs and minorities are enough to dent the TRS’ prospects. This apart, in several constituencies, the MLAs have no support from people. KCR and his family’s arrogance, the way they talk, their body language and the misdeeds of the MLAs are enough to bury the TRS for good.

This time around, do you see any change in the pattern of Muslim voting?
A: Let us put it this way. Muslims hate the BJP.  There are three alternatives before them. TRS, Congress and MIM. The minorities are already disenchanted with the policies of the TRS and MIM who are working shoulder to shoulder. The Muslims are not with MIM, mind you. They have seen the game plan of the MIM. The MIM contests elections in other States where it is not strong only to ensure polarisation of Hindu votes in support of BJP and thus help it win the elections. That leaves the Congress. I am surprised the kind of support that we are getting from the youth among minorities particularly in the Old city in Hyderabad.

If Kodandaram forms a political party and contests the elections, is he likely to hurt the Congress interests? To prevent this, will you have an alliance with him?
I cannot comment on alliances because it is our party high command which takes such decisions. I do not believe Kodandaram, even if he is in the contest is going hurt our interests. This is because the sections that are supporting Kodandaram are those that were with KCR originally. In other words, he would be cutting into KCR’s votes and not those of the Congress.

How do you propose to rally the people behind the Congress flag?
The Praja Chaitanya Yatra (Bus Yatra) which will begin at Chevella on Monday, should set the stage for this exercise. The people are fed up with KCR. Our bus yatra will not only expose the KCR’s misrule but would explain what the Congress would do for them. They have not yet forgotten the Congress rule of the past and how they were benefited.  We are not paying for people to attend our rallies. We expect them to attend on their own. The bus yatra will continue till the end of first week of March for budget session. 

After the end of the session on March 29, the yatra will resume. On June 2, the day of formation of Telangana, we will have a public meeting to be addressed our president Rahul Gandhi. The main reason why we have taken up this yatra is because we expect elections by November or December this year. We are strengthening our organisation by forming booth level committees. We have an app now through which I can communicate with all the members of the booth committee at one go.

By R Prithvi Raj