Reducing my hands-on approach with kids has provided more ‘me’ time and increased time to reflect and reconnect with India, its politics, economy, and sundry matters. The dynamics of Indian politics, economics, social behaviour, youth mindset, etc. intrigue, excite and at times disappointment me. With my recent visit back home I interacted with a few who have very strong but valid views on the state of affairs of the State of Telengana; my home. The head honcho KCR has declared his ‘senate’ null and void which supposedly is a strategic move in catching his opponents with pants down. Just as the ‘Efficient Market Hypothesis’ reflects the true value of a stock, dissolving the Assembly was largely anticipated and held few surprises. Congress being the only true opponent seem not too disturbed by the looming prospect of elections; but then time will tell.
It was during a causal discussion with an acquaintance of mine we seemed to agree on our views on KCRs brilliance, ‘rajneeti’ (read politics), his autocratic style on most matters, and his way or no way stance. While India is a democracy, it definitely is not first among equals such as the ones that operate in Scandanavia, NZ or even my own Australia. Putting out a blog post with strong opinions and words in Telengana does have an outside risk for locals; particularly with big brother KCR watching. Freedom of expression as an immigrant in Australia is paramount to me and here it can be truly practiced. I can bag my local MP for his non-performance on his Facebook page without ANY repercussions. And that is truly liberating in a functioning democracy. It was under such local constraints at home, I was prepared to offer my acquaintance assistance in publishing their post through my own blog site. The reach would be minimal but would give her/him a sliver of assurance that the post is ‘out there’ and also would generate a level of satisfaction to be able to publish it. So without further ado, the following post in my opinion is brilliant and unhindered. All feedback if any would be appreciated by my acquaintance.
INTERESTING TIMES AHEAD FOR TELANGANA
Totalitarianism is a political system of absolute power (varchasv in Hindi) where the State has no limit to its authority and regulates most aspects of public and private life. There are no competing political parties since they would balance and limit authority. The critical element of totalitarianism is absolute power striving to rule in as many areas of life as possible.
The political conditions prevailing in the newest state of India, Telangana ruled by the Telengana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), perhaps testify to this manifestation of absolutism in its brute form. And the TRS Czar Sri K. Chandrasekhara Rao (KCR) is living up to the status of an absolutist, lording it over masses by way of dispensing patronage and doling out monies for his welfare schemes that seem to be money guzzlers! Having manufactured a comfortable majority by poaching legislators from rival parties, he is now sitting pretty ensconced at the helm, both at the party level and in the government; and if one is looking for a bulwark against a juggernaut TRS party machine, you would find the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Telangana is breathing its last and KCR /TRS is writing its epitaph by poaching all its leaders. As of now there is hardly anybody left to poach. Those left behind are the diehard Chandrababu (former Chief Minister) loyalists who are holding their ground against marauding hordes of TRS cadre/workers.
The Telangana Congress under the ‘leadership’ of Uttam Kumar Reddy as State Congress Chief is a house divided with a strong cadre but with leaders ready to wage war with anybody other than the ruling party TRS. That, it fancies itself as a formidable opposition is evident only whenever a Central Observer from Delhi or the Congress President’s visit is on the cards. It is at this time, a Press Conference is held and from a grassroots party worker to the State President, KCR and his party become the favorite whipping boys with also the BJP thrown in! Other than this, there doesn’t seem to be a concrete agenda as to how to counter the TRS juggernaut and its strong cadre in impending elections. The TRS will be holding its Pragati Nivedana Sabha on the outskirts Hyderabad where KCR is expected to address a massive crowd of 2.5M,to tom tom his four years of achievements! On display will be the brute ‘people’ power of the TRS party machinery to boost confidence among the rank and file of the party that it can dare to sail with early elections. However the game plan is to catch the Opposition unawares and turn the tables on them by cashing in on the expected positive fallouts (fruits) of its various welfare and pet projects like Mission Kakatiya, Bhagiratha, Kaleshwaram Project, Rythubandhu, Kalyana Lakshmi, KCR Kits, Shaadi Mubarak and now the Zonal system etc. By tacitly supporting the BJP at the Centre, which supported the new Zonal system and gazetted it, it has ensured that the State BJP remains a weak opposition in Telangana and if it comes to the worst, an alliance may be floated.
But to return to the performance of the TRS Govt, during its four years in the newly minted state, an assessment of its policy delivery on the ground does not need a thorough scrutiny. However, preliminary Statistics reveal that a greater part of the flagship programs are on schedule but in the process, corruption allegations are flying thick and fast in terms of contractors needing to part with huge pay offs to the political class and local TRS toughies! The monies so collected would be fueled into electioneering. Maybe it is for this very reason that KCR seems to tell the cadre not to worry about the elections expenditure! Novel indeed!
To revert to the charge of totalitarianism as spelt out earlier, there are enough indications as to who calls the shots in the TRS! Though KCR remains the unquestioned monarch and is very much like the tenor and creed of Abrahamanic religions where questions should not be asked, there are others who call the shots! Unfortunately such power is solely concentrated in the hands of the ‘Family’, namely his son KTR, his daughter Kavitha and his nephew Harish Rao. Dubbed as ‘Aa Naluguru’ (those four), the levers of power rest in these hands and it would be apt to say all other ministers are ornamental and decorative worthies that do not have a voice; and much like a ventriloquist’s dummy, they do the lip-syncing while the actual voice is that of the master ventriloquist KCR and the members of the ‘Family’! As to who is going to be the heir apparent, hushed tones in the corridors of power already see KTR being groomed to don the mantle of the CM, with a sulking Kavitha trying to be a contender too! It is learnt that she is likely to switch over from being an MP at the centre to a legislator in the State which she has been grooming for her entry into the Assembly. If that be so, then KCR has a tough task on his hands as to who the successor should be, should KCR/TRS romp home with a comfortable majority!
To revisit the feeling among the Telangana ‘Aam Aadmi’ (common man) that the TRS regime is a totalitarian one in the garb of a democratic set up is not without a reason. Nowhere is this more evident than the way in which the TRS honcho has been pampering the State police by ignoring the Police-Nayeem (a crook and a fromer Naxalite) nexus! For long, it has been an open secret that department’s officers were the biggest beneficiaries of the munificence Nayeem. The state government is loathe to take the name of Nayeem. He was a naxalite during the days of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. Come Telangana’s formation, he metamorphosed into a local don based in Nalgonda, a district abutting Hyderabad. Nayeem, in his neo avatar as a land-grabber, ran a settlement mafia, comprising of land disputes, postings in the Police department with even molls thrown in to entrap and honey-trap police officers who approached him to curry favours. That Nayeem became a thorn in the TRS flesh when he started blackmailing the chief fund donators to the party, was evident in the manner he was bumped off in a stage-managed encounter. While Nayeem deserved his just desserts, what could not go unnoticed is the full freedom (and fury with which he was gunned down) given to the police to silence him as a matter of assurance to the money bags who were increasingly being targeted by Nayeem!
Needless to say, the Police have been given every conceivable facility to enhance and fine tune their mobility and effectiveness in tackling law and order issues and crime. Toyota Fortuners have been the norm as official vehicles for the cadre from SP upwards while the cadre below is pampered with Innovas, Tata Sumos and Mahindra van basic versions! Every arm of the Police, be it Law and Order, Anti Corruption Bureau, CID, Cyber Crime, Intelligence Wing, Special Battalions, etc. have been modernized and pampered with state of the art facilities that would leave the police from other states in awe! Instructions have been given to put down dissent with an iron hand as is evident in the arrest of low level govt employees who criticized KCR and TRS on Social Media! Imagine a bus conductor from the State Road Transport Corporation being slapped with a criminal case when he criticized the govt. and the CM in an Facebook post!
The very fact that KCR is able to spend vast sums on the Police dept. and also squander precious state financial resources on welfare schemes that are money guzzlers, is mainly due to retaining Hyderabad, an economic nerve centre, during bifurcation of the erstwhile united state of AP. Hyderabad has always been an economic stronghold and a jewel in the crown for Telangana. That it generates immense financial resources for the state is beyond doubt. But imagine the situation when the finances generated by Hyderabad used to be spent for the entire erstwhile AP of 25 districts and the current scenario when its finances now need to be spent on a mere 10 districts when it was bifurcated ! As KCR often declares, Telangana is indeed a rich state. This is manifest in the continuous and steady increase in growth rate of its revenue receivables from various departments, the primus inter pares (first among the equals) being the VAT Department (now the State Taxes Department). The State has even belied the GST implementation blues by beating economic pundits’ predictions of disaster in revenue receivables. Today it is in an enviable position of not being qualified to demand any compensation for revenue loss from the Federal Govt. as its growth rate has always been above the agreed benchmark of 14 % as decided by the GST Council!
In KTR, the state is indeed fortunate to have a suave Minister who handles the portfolios of ICT and Urban and Municipal Administration and development. He is glib, urbane while at the same time appealing to the rural masses as he represents a constituency Sircilla, a weaver-dominated town in erstwhile Karimnagar Dist and today a district by itself! All other ministers are either dummies (examples being Home, Finance, Transport, Excise, Health etc) or do not enjoy the confidence of the CM but are there mainly to balance caste equations! But one glaring omission is representation of women in the cabinet or the lack of it! Only the Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly is a woman! For a party, presumably going to the hustings, this would be a millstone around its neck and a stick given to the Opposition to beat the ruling party with! Only that the Congress needs to milk this advantage.
KCR is sure he is going to come back as his own survey constituency-wise projects his comeback with a 100 seat tally! Confidence personified no doubt but isn’t he underestimating the Opposition, especially the Congress? The Congress Telangana is bereft of leaders, with everyone fancying himself/herself as a leader! But a look at the ‘galaxy’ of leaders in the Congress doesn’t inspire much confidence or hope for those who read the tea leaves! Already many of its leaders have been poached by TRS! Ticket distribution in the Telangana Congress will be a challenge for the Delhi leadership of the party. The CWC members who are designated as State In Charges, will play a key role in ticket distribution. For the Congress to come out clear of this controversy, it needs to appoint someone who is acceptable to the rank and file of the cadre and who can galvanize them to deliver when and where it matters! The Congress can stitch up a formidable alliance with the Telangana TDP, Kodandaram’s party and assorted political outfits that have sprouted in the state since its formation! Then it can have a fair chance of toppling the current ruling dispensation! So smart alliancing is the best way for the Congress in Telangana!
As for the BJP, the state cadre may not want to ally with TRS but again it will be Amit Shah’s the BJP President’s calling whether to ally or not! The BJP’s desire is always to chart an independent path and emerge as a sole contender. But given the state of the party, it too doesn’t inspire much confidence! It does not have mass leaders who can galvanize the cadre and the crowds. So it may have to be content with playing the second fiddle. But an overt alliance may not materialize nor may the TRS be interested, given the cosy relationship TRS and KCR enjoy with Owaisi’s Muslim Party. For the fear of alienating the Muslim vote, KCR may put up the pretense of fighting the BJP but it is going to be nevertheless ‘friendly fights’. Post the General elections in April 2019, if the NDA is short of a working majority, the TRS can provide the numbers making the NDA reach the finishing line in govt formation!
So the scene is set and Telangana is in for interesting and exciting times!
desidownunder 