Poachers on prowl in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana State

Inflicting death by a thousand cuts! This ancient barbaric method of Chinese torture is being used by K Chandrasekhar Rao and N Chandrababu Naidu, albeit in a different way, for maiming and subjugating their adversaries to suit their political interests.

For the former, the one on the chopping bloct is the Congress. He has more or less decimated the Telugu Desam Party already in Telangana. For Naidu, it is t he YSRC which is still posing a challenge to his ambition of returning to power in the 2019 elections.

KCR is a past master in the game. He has already broken the morale of the Congress party. Not one to rest content, he knows that he has miles to go, howsoever dark deep and lovely, the woods might be.

The latest blow to the TDP was when former Minister A Uma Madhava Reddy and her son Sandeep Reddy switched loyalties to the TRS, thereby driving one more nail into the TDP coffin in Telangana State.

Very recently, KCR held a meeting with Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao and discussed the prospects of leaders of not only the TDP but also the Congress crossing the Rubicon and joining the TRS.

Harish Rao who has been entrusted with coordination of party activities, is understood to have laid-out a roadmap to systematically eliminate whatever remains of the Congress and TDP, who both are banking on anti-incumbency factor to bolster their prospects.

Harish Rao reportedly came up with an action plan that strengthen their party hold in Mahaboobnagar, Nalgonda, Ranga Reddy, Khammam and Nizamabad where the Congress has some strength.

Alampur MLA Sampath and other Congress leaders meeting Harish Rao in Delhi is seemingly a step in this direction. The Minister’s talks with DK Aruna and Komatiredy Venkata Reddy are ostensibly an attempt to charm them into the pink party.

In fact, when TDP working president A Revanth Reddy left the TDP and joined the Congress, the yellow brigade suffered a jolt from which it could not recover since Revanth was the only charismatic leader in the party. Now with Uma’s move, the party seems to be nearing extinction in Telangana.

In Revanth's case, it was only a TDP leader joining the Congress but KCR wanted to derive benefit from the development - playing pied piper to Revanth Reddy's cadre and lead them into the TRS, after convincing them that there was no future in the Congress.

Already the party has achieved a measure of success, by inducting a few of Revanth Reddy's cadres in Kodangal into the party. KCR knows fully well that, in as many as 30 Assembly constituencies mostly in South Telangana, the party has to be made poll-ready. He is scouting for winning horses from other parties.

On the other side of the divide, Naidu is trying to compensate for what he is losing inexorably in Telangana. For the last two years, the Telugu Desam party had no other work except to spirit away YSRC legislators. As Naidu is doling out irresistible offers to YSRC legislators, the exodus from J-camp continues despite Jaganmohan Reddy’s efforts to keep his flock together.

That the tally of YSRC law-makers who have been won over is over 20 indicates that the modus operandi of Naidu is reaping immense benefits, although opinion is divided over whether it was proper to lure legislators from other parties and inducting four of them into his Cabinet.

But then everything is fair in love and war! On umpteen occasions Naidu has harped on the theme that he was only following Chanakya Neethi where end justifies means, irrespective of whether it is by hook or crook.

The wide-publicity given to Naidu’s latest ‘catch’ Giddi Eeswari of Paderu constituency in Visakhapatnam district is meant to unnerve Jaganmohan Reddy.

The way Naidu went about ensuring victory in Nandyalm which fell vacant after the death of sitting YSRC member Bhuma Nagireddy who had by then migrated to the TDP from YSRC along with his MLA daughter Akhila Priya, should serve as a text-book case for those who wish to master the art of cutting the enemy to size.

Though it was a pyrrhic victory, yet it served the purpose for which he had paid the huge price-obtaining people's approval for welcoming ‘defectors’ from YSRC into the TDP fold.

Chandrababu Naidu appears to be playing out a game which KCR played against him while engineering defections from the TDP when Telangana movement reached its crescendo. Though KCR was once Naidu’s disciple, the ‘tutor’ had to learn from the pupil on keeping the Opposition flattened to the board.

As both the leaders are at the game they are adept at, their political adversaries are running for cover. It remains to be seen whether the hunter will remain the hunter or becomes the hunted. Period.