LS elections litmus test for BRS as KCR still hankers after PM’s kursi

Hyderabad: It will be a litmus test for BRS to prove its strength in Telangana, especially after the drubbing in the Assembly elections, even as party chief K Chandrashekar Rao has big ambitions of becoming Prime Minister if people give them 14 seats.

The BRS, which went to the polls with the slogan of ‘Saaru Caru Padaharu’ while in power during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, had won nine of the 17 seats. This time the party has not given any such slogan, but KCR wants people to give 14 seats if Telangana has to rule, stating that regional parties would be calling the shots and the situation will be such that national parties would be compelled to support the coalition of regional parties. At a press conference on Saturday when a question was posed whether he was willing to become PM, Rao asked why would he hesitate to take it.

However, the real test for the party would be to repeat the 2019 performance, as its leaders feel there would be some impact of the Assembly poll results. They are also of the view that the Modi factor would impact the election results. A senior BRS leader said, besides the Modi factor, the Ram Mandir issue is also seen even in remote areas. However, he said the Congress government’s failure in implementing the promises and exposure by the party leaders would help it in getting more seats. He said people in villages are vexed with the government and opined KCR was good for them.

The party leaders are also pinning hopes on the BRS chief’s extensive campaign, which, they said, would help in improving the seat tally. The BRS chief held roadshows in all the constituencies during the last fortnight through his ‘bus yatra’. The leaders are happy with people’s response. Rao had asked people to vote wisely; also appealed to the minority voters not to divide their votes to other parties. Stating that voting for the Congress party would only benefit the BJP, he asked the Muslim minority voters to vote for the pink party in various constituencies.

According to political analysts, a lot will depend on the Lok Sabha election outcome for BRS in the State. If the party wins a good number of seats, it will become a formidable Opposition; if the party fails to get votes, the big challenge will be to save its leaders and public representatives, said an analyst.