Hyderabad: With the Telangana government all set to conduct the local body elections in the coming weeks, many are wondering if ex-chief minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) will finally come out and campaign. After the BRS’s loss in the 2023 Assembly elections KCR almost disappeared from public life, and has barely campaigned.
The Telangana local body polls is likely to be held in December due to delays. It was set to be held earlier in November after the state government announced a 42% reservation for Backward Class (BC) communities. However, the high court struck it down, delaying the process. On November 20, the State Election Commission (SEC) is likely to issue the notification on November 26 or 27.
BRS functionaries said that it is highly unlikely that even a major election like the local body elections will draw out KCR. Many political observers believe that the ex-CM has still not recovered from the BRS’ loss in the 2023 Telangana election.
A senior BRS functionary told Siasat.com that that KCR may in fact surface or campaign during the next Assembly election. Since 2023, BRS working president and his son KT Rama Rao (KTR) and Siddipet MLA (and KCR’s nephew) T Harish Rao have been leading the party. Many believe that KTR is likely to take over from KCR.
“There is no need for KCR to come out and campaign now. We will support candidates in the coming local body elections, but we may not put in our best efforts as many might defect to Congress even if they win. Our focus will be to win the next Assembly elections instead,” said the BRS functionary. The main opposition party also lost the Jubilee Hills by-election earlier this month.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress came to power by winning 64 out of 119 seats. The BRS won 39 constituencies, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Communist Party of India (CPI) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won 20, one and nine seats. Since then the Congress won the Jubilee Hills and Secunderabad Cantonment seats in by elections as well upping its tally.
The Congress, led by chief minister Revanth Reddy, has also been targetting KCR, claiming that he has retired.
