By G Krishna Mohan Rao*
New Delhi: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) founder and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) is keen to play a significant role in national politics vis a vis in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BRS seems to be finalising its agenda along with like-minded parties. KCR is equally keen that BRS gets national party recognition at the earliest.
While wild speculations are being made in the media and political circles over the change of the original name of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) into Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), whatever may be the compulsions and strategies, one thing is certain KCR is all set to expand the BRS footprints across the country. Besides playing a bigger role in national politics, KCR is keen like the Aam Aadmi Party supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, to ensure the national party status to BRS.
For any party, to play its role, it is important to have the symbolic stature of the “ national party” tag. Despite their numbers, regional and sub-regional parties have limited roles on the centre stage of national politics. The ‘national party’ tag has its advantages. Not only it provides a common symbol for the party across the country, but also provides other fringe benefits. This includes airtime on the Radio/TV, office space in the Lutyens Delhi as well membership of consultative committees at various levels of government.
KCR is all set to unleash his economic and social agenda with a major thrust on new agricultural policy. He is also visualising new power and water policy to go hand in hand with agriculture. Upliftment of the weaker sections including SCs, STs and OBCs is another thrust area. Taking the first step towards carving out a bigger role for himself on the national stage, KCR inaugurated the office of the newly renamed party BRS in Delhi this week. With the opening of the party office in the national capital, the party starts its journey as a national political party under KCR’s leadership.
Earlier this year KCR had declared on many occasions his ambition to play a larger role in national politics with an aim to construct a third front against both the BJP and Congress. As part of this effort, he toured the various regions in the country and held meetings with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader MK Stalin, Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Deve Gowda, Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thakre and several others.
In fact, on the party inauguration day, KCR sent a message of his national ambition, when his parliamentary party leader K Keshava Rao attended the opposition leaders’ meeting in the Parliament House called by the Mallikarjun Kharge to chalk out floor strategy, including a demand for a discussion in both the houses on China. Obviously, the new BRS wants to be part of the larger opposition unity.
*Senior journalist
