BRS Faces Possible Rout in Telangana, Hopes to Win Only One Lok Sabha Seat
Hyderabad: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which won nine of the 17 Lok Sabha seats from Telangana in the 2019 elections, could well be staring at a possible rout in this year’s general elections, with the best-case scenario for the party putting its prospects at one win despite contesting in all seats.
Though the party leaders have said that they hope to do much better, all indications, including several exit polls, have put the BRS’ prospects between 0 and one seat. However, this did not dampen the hope that the party may just prove that it still has some purchase among voters in the state with the BRS president and former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Sunday declaring that there was a very ‘enthusiastic’ response to his bus poll campaign bus tour and advised his party to wait and watch.
He was speaking at the State Formation Day celebration at Telangana Bhavan, the BRS headquarters, where he also tried to boost the party morale saying that the BRS will return to power in the state.
In these elections, the BRS, which lost power in the state after the 2023 Assembly elections, got squeezed between a resurgent Congress, which won the state polls and expressed confidence that it will win anywhere between 10 and 12 Lok Sabha seats this time – up from the three it got in the 2019 polls - and a determined BJP, which put all its faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pull the party up from the four seats it won in 2019, to a double-digit figure.
In what were possible signs of things to come when votes are counted on Tuesday, the BRS also struggled with picking candidates and saw some of its leaders desert it at the last minute only to join its rival parties and contest the Lok Sabha elections. The worst blow the party received was from Kadiam Kavya, whose candidature was announced by Rao. A day after this announcement, Kavya quit the BRS and joined the Congress to fight on its ticket. A similar blow was delivered by the Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender, who joined the Congress to contest as its candidate from the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency.
BRS leaders while expressing hope publicly that their party will do well, in private conversations are being much more circumspect and are pegging their chances at winning just one seat – Medak – painting a one or none scenario, though there are some, who say that they could still spring a surprise winning more than one seat.
The nine seats the BRS won in 2019, were fewer than the 11 it won in 2014, but after the 2014 results, its numbers in the Lok Sabha received a boost with three others – Nalgonda winner Gutha Sukhender Reddy (INC), Khammam winner Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy (YSRCP), Malkajgiri winner Ch Malla Reddy (TDP) – joining it.
Meanwhile, the party on Monday wound down its three-day celebrations marking the June 2 State Formation Day with meetings at its offices in all districts.
It may be recalled that the BRS began its celebrations on June 1 with a candlelight rally in the city, followed by a meeting of its workers and leaders at Telangana Bhavan. The second day’s event was graced by Chandrashekar Rao, and the third day was reserved for honouring those who took part in the statehood movement in events at BRS offices across districts.