Just into brand new year, BRS braces for tough bouts ahead

Hyderabad: The BRS, which had a forgetful 2024, is likely to have yet another challenging year with panchayat and local body elections, including GHMC, lined up this year.

The party that ruled the State for two terms—from 2014 to 2023—had a forgetful 2024 with several adverse events happening during the last 12 months, like the Lok Sabha debacle, where it drew a big zero, and losing its MLAs to the Congress and the effect of the arrest of K Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha, who was in jail for almost five months in a money-laundering case filed by ED and CBI.

According to party leaders, 2025 is likely to be better than the previous year, but they expect challenges in the coming years. A senior leader said that the first challenge would be to face the panchayat elections. While there is some negativity among the masses against the government on the implementation of six guarantees, facing the ruling party with money and muscle power in the polls will be a challenge.

The party would have to repeat the performance in Hyderabad—where it bagged a majority of seats in the 2023 Assembly elections—in the forthcoming GHMC polls. The situation has changed in the city after a few MLAs, including T Prakash Goud (Rajendranagar), Arikepudi Gandhi (Serilingampally), and D Nagender (Khairatabad), shifted loyalties. The party will have to prove once again that the denizens of Hyderabad are in favour of BRS.

Another challenge will be to save its MLAs. Already several legislators have deserted the party and joined the Congress. There is speculation that a few more MLAs were willing to join the ruling party in the future. However, the BRS leadership is hopeful the MLAs will not join the Congress.

The BRS working president, KT Rama Rao, on Wednesday said the party will approach the Supreme Court against the MLAs who shifted loyalties and expressed confidence that there will be by-elections in the State this year.

The party leadership is trying to woo the cadre to get back their confidence. There were allegations that the cadre was kept away during the party's rule. The BRS chief deciding to stay away from politics was also creating confusion among the cadre. However, KTR said KCR would come back at an appropriate time.