Chief Minister KCR must be laughing in his sleeves by the evening of September 17. He must be feeling smug and satisfied. The reason? He is happy at the stupendous success of the two Opposition rallies. One was by the BJP, which focused on September 17 and no less a person than Amit Shah was the star attraction of the largely attended programme.
The second is the anti-TRS rally organized by the Congress party in Gajwel, his constituency. This too was a well-attended rally and Revanth raved and ranted against KCR. But the rallies hogged the media space on September 17. Several media houses gave live coverage of both the events. But, instead of getting worried, KCR must be feeling happy.
Why? KCR feels happy because the anti-TRS and anti-KCR sentiment will be divided between the two competing rivals. Both the BJP and the Congress will divide the anti-TRS votes. This division will help KCR win the elections in 2023. If one of the two parties is weaker, the anti-TRS voters would consolidate behind the stronger of the two. This polarization might affect KCR’s apple car. But now that both are emerging stronger, the likelihood of anti-incumbency votes getting divided is growing.
KCR is also happy for another reason. The more the BJP talks about the liberation of Hyderabad, the more Muslim voters will turn towards the TRS. This reverse polarization is sure to help the TRS. Anti-BJP sentiment will prove beneficial to the ruling TRS in a significant way. After all, Nirmal, Adilabad, Khanapur and Bhainsa are communally sensitive and the BJP programme was held in Nirmal. This will cause reverse polarization, the TRS sources feel.
