KCR’s Khammam rally leaves a lot to be desired

From a galaxy of opposition parties, leaders of only five parties attended K Chandrashekar Rao's event, raising doubts about the success of his initiative

The January 18 Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) rally — in which four sitting chief ministers and one former chief minister took part — which was billed as the new front of opposition parties to fight the 2024 general elections, has exposed the divide among the anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parties. From a galaxy of opposition parties, leaders of only five parties attended the event held at Khammam in Telangana, while other key outfits were left out, signalling that all is not well in the front formation.

While the rally was an impressive one, little about the structure of this anti-BJP, anti-Congress front was shared. Perhaps this was because the rally was primarily to launch the BRS, which is headed by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), the main force behind the front. Present at the rally were Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (CPI(M)), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (AAP), Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann (AAP), former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), and CPI leader D Raja.

Also read | Few takers for K Chandrashekar Rao's national ambition

The Missing Opposition

KCR did not talk about the absence of major Opposition leaders; however, BRS sources told media that although the Chief Minister had met these leaders earlier, no invitation was extended to them for the January 18 event. Thus, leaders such as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin (DMK), Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (JD(U)), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (TMC), Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejaswi Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren (JMM) were conspicuous by their absence. Predictably there were no leaders from the Congress. Kumar said he was not aware of the meeting as he had not received an invite.

Even JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy was not present. It is understood that KCR was not happy that Kumaraswamy — who attended nearly every BRS function in the last few months — announced candidates for some of the seats in Hyderabad-Karnataka region in the forthcoming assembly elections without consulting him. Since the two parties are in alliance, KCR was keen on fielding BRS candidates in some seats in Karnataka. He also fears that the JD(S) may have a tie-up with the BJP post-polls, if the results throw up a hung house.

Nitish Kumar’s Segue

KCR’s intention in keeping the key opposition parties away was obvious. Other than the BJP, which is seen to be becoming stronger in Telangana, the Congress is the other rival in the state. The parties which were absent at Khammam want the Congress to lead or be part of the Opposition front. The BRS, AAP or the Left in Kerala don’t want any truck with the Congress in their states. Of the parties which attended the Khammam rally, the Left has entered an alliance with the Congress in Tripura, which is going to the polls shortly.

As for the Opposition leaders, Kumar is making his own subtle moves for unity of anti-BJP parties. He is said to have prime ministerial ambitions, although he has publicly denied it. He had recently remarked: “I have often said I want nothing for myself. My only dream is to see the unity of the Opposition parties and this will benefit the country”.

More importantly, electorally there is not much that most parties stand to gain in an arrangement that has no place for Congress (and to a minor extent, AAP and the Left). Many of the opposition parties are regional outfits which have a base only in their state. Other than the BJP, it is only the Congress which has a national presence. Although the grand old party won only 44 and 52 seats in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, its vote share was 19.3 percent and 19.5 percent, respectively. This illustrates the base the party has still retained across India although the organisation has nearly withered away in several states.

If Kumar continues with his efforts for a third front, there is a possibility of two separate fronts from the Opposition ranks taking on the BJP. If so, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will certainly ridicule the Opposition and use this lack of unity to its advantage.

An Eye On Telangana

While KCR is focusing on the national picture, he will also have an eye on Telangana which is scheduled to go to the polls in November. The BRS, which appears to be sitting pretty in the state, is expected to face a resurgent BJP whose performance in the last few byelections must have rattled KCR. Of the last five assembly bypolls, the BRS/TRS won three and the BJP two. The Congress, which lost all five, forfeited deposit in three. The BRS won the recent byelection in Munugodu by over 10,000 votes against the BJP candidate while the Congress lost its deposit.

The BJP is expected to markedly improve its performance in the assembly elections. The party did creditably well in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation election in 2020, where it secured 48 seats out of a total 150, while the BRS emerged victorious with 55 wards. Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM secured 44 wards while the Congress could manage only two.

(B S Arun is a Bengaluru-based senior journalist. The views expressed are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)