Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) appears to have a gargantuan appetite to gobble up leaders of all political parties of all levels and emerge into a single largest behemoth in the State of Telangana.
For a fledgling sub-regional party that meticulously has grown to a powerful political formation, consolidation of its position and fortification of its rank and file will surely be of top priority.
But, ever since it has assumed the reins of the State on June 2, 2014 – a year and a half ago, the TRS has been drawing legislators, leaders and zilla parishad chairmen, and even members of local bodies, cutting across party lines, into its fold.
The winning streak of the TRS at every byelection is only reinforcing its influence, with more and more leaders coming forth to snap their connections with their parent parties, no matter what the length and strength of their parent political parties was, and join the TRS.
Tummala Nageswara Rao, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Challa Dharma Reddy, Manchireddy Kishan Reddy , former Mayor Teegala Krishna Reddy, Madhavaram Krishna Rao, G Sayanna and many legislators were encouraged to cross the floor. Some were endowed with coveted positions too, which naturally caused heartburn among those, who worked for the party for more than a decade.
It’s all in the game. The reasons for the TRS, which is now girding up its proverbial loins to win Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections, to become muscular even inorganically is understandable. But why are the leaders from other parties are queuing up to join hands with the TRS?
IN the light of former CBI Director K Vijayarama Rao, who has been with the TDP for 15 years now, all set to join the TRS, here are the five important and ostensible reasons that are responsible for the leaders of other parties to eagerly jump into the TRS, which is hugely harping on the TINA (there is no alternative) factor.
1. The Congress and the TDP are missing one important logic: It’s the leader who keeps the cadres stay glued to any political party. The absence of a tall political personality as a leader makes the party rudderless. Telugu Desam doesn’t have a leader like Chandrababu Naidu to inspire and enthuse the cadres in Telangana and the party is now just on a ventilator support with most leaders going adrift to the TRS. The Congress suffers from incoherence and utter confusion all across. Telangana is no different. In fact, the Congress lost proper leadership after the demise of YS Rajasekhara Reddy and the result is too conspicuous to miss.
2. Being in the ruling party makes life a lot easier rather than being in the opposition. However, barring a handful of leaders, others don’t indulge in floor-crossing with a view to emerging as an alternative to the ruling dispensation and try their lick at the hustings, whenever. However, in Telangana, this seems to be well nigh impossible. For L Ramana, Errabelli Dayakar Rao, A Revanth Reddy and the likes in the TDP; and N Uttham Kumar Reddy, K Jana Reddy, and Mohammed Ali Shabbir of the Congress are surely not leaders of that state-level stature to match KCR. This is weaning the leaders and cadre of those parties from their alma maters.
3. The new dispensation under KCR is creating a myriad political and apolitical opportunities and, in some cases, even political novices and those who never practiced politics as a full-time profession too have risen to coveted positions. The turncoats see a clear gap there. The Chief Minister would have endowed these leaders with such positions, had they been sailing with him. For instance, Tummala Nageswara Rao became a minister straightaway without being a legislator.
4. There is hardly anybody tin the TDP and the Congress to match the glamour of KTR, Kavitha and Harish Rao, the three youth icons of the TRS. Typical of a meticulous leader that he is, KCR distributed the roles and responsibilities among all the three equally. This naturally positioned the TRS way ahead of its competitors. With no such hope in sight even in long term, it is but natural for the leaders of other parties to be drawn towards the TRS. Interestingly the TRS too has opened the floodgates for the aspirants to get in.
5. Last, but not the least, it is always easy to get the popular demands addressed and meet their aspirations, if one is a leader in the ruling party. Access to the corridors of power, funds and influence would become much easier. The BJP and the Communists are anyway diluting themselves and slowly disappearing from the politics of Telangana.
