Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Set to Make Inroads in Telangana, Talks with BJP and TDP Underway

Hyderabad: Is Telangana set to witness the emergence of a new political force? Is there a vacuum in the political arena of Telangana with the Congress party losing ground fast and with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi far from being in a position to stage a comeback?

These are among the plausible questions that are making rounds in political circles now. An aide of Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan is working assiduously to identify the Jana Sena’s individual prospects in Telangana.

Simultaneously, the party is discussing with local leaders of Telugu Desam Party and Bharatiya Janata Party possible alliances with them to determine which of the alliances could click for it in Telangana.

Jana Sena believes strongly that the prospects of the party’s expansion in Telangana are bright, provided it latches on to a strong alliance partner.

Telugu Desam Party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu is also planning to rejuvenate the party unit in the state, with some leaders having clout like Teegala Krishna Reddy and Malla Reddy indicating their willingness for ghar wapsi during their recent interaction with the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, whose party can now influence the NDA government the Centre.

For BJP, however, it is formidable battle ahead in Telangana. The party is bracing up to come to power by beating both the Congress and the BRS. For, the party is of the considered opinion that the Congress is losing its ground very fast, while the BRS has not made headway in regaining public confidence over the last 10 months.

Although the efforts of BRS working president K T Ramarao have started yielding some results, people in general are not very happy with KCR’s lackluster attitude towards major issues including HYDRAA ops, delayed Rythu Bharosa and incomplete farmers’ loan waiver.

“People are yet to forgive KCR for his dictatorial functioning; till it continues, the prospects of BRS would not brighten,” commented a senior BRS leader. What is crystal clear for every political party in the state is how fast the Congress has been losing its ground among various sections of people.

Lack of administrative experience is clearly visible, going by recent developments. The farmers’ loan waiver, despite the disbursal of three installments with fanfare, is yet to be completed in right earnest. The Rythu Bharosa, which has already yielded strong ground to BRS in the farming community, has been postponed indefinitely. Both these aspects have changed farmers’ attitude towards the Congress.

Repeated changes in dates and schedules of government job exams have widened the gap between the unemployed and the state government. With the advent of HYDRAA ops, the real estate sector, which had pushed the Hyderabad to next level during the BRS regime, has reported nearly a 40 per cent drop.

With no sales, and with investors under pressure to return the money they had taken in advance for executing projects, those who had planned their ventures near and around lakes have almost been pushed to bankruptcy.

But the moot question is: Is there a real political vacuum in Telangana or is it the dream of those who are idle in various political parties? Statistically speaking, TDP still has sizeable vote banks in Khammam, Nalgonda, Ranga Reddy and Hyderabad districts, apart from marginal presence in Nizamabad and Warangal. The Jana Sena has no strength at all in Telangana as per records.

The BJP is vying for the top slot and wants to grab power in the upcoming Assembly elections. If the three parties come together, there will be a fair chance for them to attain power in Telangana. All three parties are known to be cadrebased and, relatively speaking, less corrupt. So, many disillusioned political leaders will be happy to switch to these three parties and contest.

So, there will be no dearth of bankable candidates for such an alliance. But the only challenge that both Jana Sena and TDP will face at the time of elections is the exclusionary tag of being ‘Andhra parties. The BRS (as distinct from TRS) may have to give this a new spin to once again stoke regional feelings in the state.

But the people of this state have already given 10 years to BRS and the party, while looking at its prospects beyond borders, chose to shed Telangana from its name. Whether the party will once again capitalize on regional feelings and whether people would accept their claims would be clear only ahead of the next Assembly elections.

All told, if the new alliance takes shape, the contest will be three-cornered, giving a fair chance to the Congress party too.