Congress topples BRS Apple cart

The following article was written for MyindMakers. Pasting it here for reference. 

Even though it’s been nearly 20 years since that election, the failed India shining campaign of the BJP for the 2004 elections is often talked about in the context of the Urban-Rural divide. After nearly 20 years, we again saw a similar result in the 2023 Telangana state elections. The incumbent BRS government went into the election with 100 MLAs (out of the total 119!). And they won only 39 seats this time, well short of the majority mark of 60. 16 out of these 39 were from the Greater Hyderabad area! The only notable Urban area in Telangana is the Greater Hyderabad region – which means that the BRS was totally routed from the rural areas of Telangana.

Why did KCR lose so badly though? KCR’s downfall began almost immediately after he won a massive mandate in the 2018 Assembly elections (won 86 out of 119). Despite not needing them, he wooed 12 Congress MLAs and 2 TDP MLAs into the TRS. He didn’t have a proper cabinet in place for nearly 50 days. He received the first electoral shock when the BJP won 4 LS seats, Congress won 3 LS seats and he won 9 seats (as opposed to a landslide he was expecting)! He, however, didn’t learn any lesson. He continued to take U-turns on many decisions; started abusing the media and his opponents in the choiciest of words; lost GHMC, 2 by-elections, and 1 MLC election. He continued to remain aloof and wasn’t available even for his ministers and MLAs (his ministers have confirmed this in interviews too!).

His son KTR was running the government de facto. He used to give instructions (under the garb of “requests”) to other ministers on Twitter, to show off his powers. KTR perfectly embodied the arrogance of KCR. He made very objectionable and disparaging remarks when a girl student was killed by her senior; and when a girl student committed suicide owing to his government failures. KTR looked the other way around when hundreds of students at various government-run hostels were constantly being admitted to hospitals because of food poisoning. Sarpanches were committing suicides because of lack of funds to Panchayats and the KCR-KTR duo simply didn’t even flinch. The KCR-KTR duo were not able to conduct a single recruitment exam glitch-free. Paper leaks and postponements became the order of the day, thus pushing lakhs of youth into a swirl of uncertainties. The list goes on, but I think you get the point of why KCR lost. There are just way too many issues on which the KCR-KTR duo failed the people of the state.

Social media played a very prominent role in building the anti-incumbency against KCR. Many anonymous handles created some excellent content to highlight the hypocrisy and failures of the KCR government. From 2019 to 2022, The BJP deserves a lot of credit for playing the role of an effective opposition for nearly 4 years. Despite winning only 1 seat in the 2018 elections, the party registered impressive victories in the 2019 Lok Sabha election (4/17); the GHMC elections (up from 4 to 48); 2 impressive assembly by-poll victories; and 1 impressive MLC victory. They were at the forefront of many agitation rallies against the BRS. The growth graph began to dip because of infighting in the party, which enabled the Congress to surge miraculously! 

The sudden resurgence of the Congress party began after it won the elections in Karnataka in May 2023. The people of Telangana were so vexed with KCR and his family’s arrogance that they didn’t mind choosing the Congress party as the alternative here. Up until that point in time, the Congress was in doldrums. They performed abysmally in every possible election after the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

The Congress was then quick to grab the moment and momentum. They began an aggressive campaign, completely handled by strategist Sunil Kanugolu – the same guy who handled the Karnataka campaign. The Congress released their manifesto – 6 Guarantees – very early in the election cycle. In fact, they were the first party to release their promises. Both the BRS and the BJP were left to copy the Congress style of design of the ads and at times, keywords from the Congress slogans too!

This was definitely not the Congress party that we have come to seen in recent times. I mean, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this is not the same Congress party that fought the elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh! The three-way contest between BRS, Congress and the BJP seems to have benefitted the Congress more. The Congress party in fact won back seats it last won 2-4 decades back! The drubbing that the BRS party received was severe. It didn’t translate into a sweep for one party alone, and that’s why the Congress party just crossed the halfway mark of 60 (they won 64 seats). For many observers, it was difficult to call the election decisively precisely because of this close contest.

The Congress party has now chosen Revanth Reddy, the current PCC President and the man widely credited for this victory as the Chief Minister of the state. It is now left to see if the Congress party will screw up governance (as is their habit. The last time Congress won 2 consecutive elections was in 2011. They have never won a pro-incumbency vote since then). The people of Telangana have spoken. It is up to Revanth Reddy to live up to their expectations.