Will ED action against Kavitha help KCR sail smoothly in Telangana?

New Delhi: The questioning of Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi liquor policy case may come as a blessing in disguise for the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) ahead of the assembly elections in the state.

The BRS (formerly TRS – Telangana Rashtra Samithi) is likely to play on the sympathy factor and portray the ED action against KCR’s daughter as a direct assault on Telangana. In the coming days, the BRS is expected to up the ante against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with its narrative that the real target was KCR and not Kavitha.

KCR had been on the offensive against the BJP for a long time now. He has launched serious efforts to unite all the major regional parties to form a grouping or a front against the BJP.

The BRS has repeatedly claimed that the central government, its agencies and the BJP are targeting KCR and his family because of his growing popularity among the cross-section of people of Telangana, especially Dalits, farmers, Muslims and tribals due to his different welfare programmes such as Rythu Bandhu and Dalit Bandhu schemes.

The ED action against Kavitha might strengthen that perception and help the BRS in the upcoming assembly elections due in December this year.

Some time ago, there was a buzz of KCR advancing the elections, but it seems that he is now unlikely to dissolve the assembly before the due date.

Unofficially, KCR has already put in place his succession plan. While KCR’s national ambitions are well known, his son KT Rama Rao is likely to succeed him as the chief minister. Kavitha is set to increase her footprints outside Telangana and help her father in realising his national dream.  

Political observers have predicted a third term for KCR and the BRS in the state and a tough fight between Congress and the BJP for the second spot. According to them, the BJP has reached a saturation point in Telangana and is unlikely to grow further in the state.

Moreover, the infighting in the state unit is expected to hurt the saffron party and push it to third place. Besides, many BJP leaders in Telangana are imports from other parties, particularly the Congress and the BRS, and they share a tenuous relationship with state unit chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar who has risen through the ranks in the party.

On the other hand, the BJP is hoping to register major gains due to the popularity and charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his extensive campaigning on the plank of double-engine governments.

It remains to be seen whether his development pitch will have any takers in Telangana.