Janata ullu nahi hai

Both the Telugu states have got into the election mode. Ruling and opposition parties in both states are busy making own assessments as to whom to target for votes and how to come to power. While the farmer is going to be the main 'Bakra' for the next general elections in Telangana with all parties working out strategies to project the farmers' plight and pin the entire blame on the BJP government at the centre, in Andhra Pradesh, efforts are on to polarise the people well-ahead of the polls.

Even the Congress party in Telangana feels that both the BJP government led by Modi and the KCR government here have cheated the farmers. It is raking up the issue of the government failure to waive farm loans and pointing out that Telangana is the only state which does not have crop insurance scheme in the country.

Rahul Gandhi was given a list of talking points on the farmers' plight in the state and he unleashed a barrage of charges at at both the Modi and the TRS government. The State Congress has announced it will come out with a new revenue system, do away with Dharani portal, give input subsidy to farmers to the extent of Rs 15,000 per year, release agri calendar and announce in advance the quantum of crop they would buy from farmers. It also assured Turmeric Board would be constituted in the State and that MNREGS would be linked to agricultural works. Most importantly, it promised to give ownership rights to Adivasis with a right to sale and resale. Also announced were higher MSP rates for various crops.

But the main problem for the Congress is that it depends on the speeches of Rahul Gandhi, which often are not so inspiring. In politics, the leaders should stir the voters and make them think about certain issues and the performance of the ruling party as well the promises made by the opposition party. But the Warangal speech of Rahul could not bring in that kind of josh among the people. He said the Congress gave Telangana knowing fully well that it would lose power by bifurcating the united state of Andhra Pradesh and carving out Telangana. Alas, Rahul's speech lacked punch. Calling CM a king who does not listen to people's voice did not elicit any response. The main promise made by him was to waive farm loans to the extent of Rs 2 lakh.

All parties should understand one thing that that gone are the days when people would blindly believe what the political parties announce. The TRS promised loan-waiver; earlier, the Congress party had also promised a loan-waiver and claims it had done wonders.

But the fact is, all parties come up with such announcements on the eve of polls and at that point of time they do not tell the people about the terms and conditions that would apply. Once in power, they start working out the rules, regulations and the conditions which ultimately dilutes the spirit with which these parties made the promises – and the farmer continues to suffer.

The Congress feels that the BC Garjana meeting held in Warangal in 2002 which was addressed by Sonia Gandhi, proved to be a lucky mascot for the Congress as it clinched power at the Centre and in the State. It feels that Rahul's May 6 Rythu Sangharshana Sabha in Warangal will bring luck to the Congress. Only time will tell to what extent his meeting stirred up the people.

The biggest problem for Congress is its grand failure to set its own house in order whether at national or state level. It sounds little funny that it dreams of coming into power. That Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy abstained from such an important meeting speaks of what sort of unity exists among the leaders. Rahul spoke of how TRS is remote-controlled by BJP at the centre. But the Congress has a long history since Independence, of not only controlling state governments but also Raj Bhavan with remote control. The big question is who is cheating whom? We have recently seen how a Congress leader asked even the PCC president not to enter Nalgonda. And this party speaks of driving the state towards progress! The BJP which is trying to come to power in 2023 by trying to cash in on the incumbency factor has taken the line that the governance is in a state of pathetic condition and that it had turned out to be another family rule like the Congress in the past. BJP top leaders like J P Nadda also allege that the irrigation projects like Kaleshwaram had turned into an ATM for the TRS. Here one needs to understand one thing. This dialogue was used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the last elections in Andhra Pradesh. He had alleged that the Polavaram project had become an ATM for TDP.

The BJP also speaks of how the misdeeds of the TRS had resulted in the farmer being pushed into problems because of the wrong policies of the state government and how it had miscalculated and how its "senseless," decisions had left the farmers in lurch and how it had affected the procurement of paddy both during the Kharif and the Rabi.

One thing people need to understand is that during the last elections, the BJP pushed the TDP into a defenceless situation on the issue of special category and special status to Andhra Pradesh and the TDP in a state of nervousness withdrew from the NDA government and went on attacking the centre and also resorted to personal attacks on Modi. It was something which was never expected from TDP. But it was pushed to such a state of nervousness that it miscalculated and deviated from its original path and finally fell flat.

Now, the BJP's strategies have pushed the TRS into a state of confusion and made them go anti-Modi and they have started making all kinds of comments, with some rhetoric like 'Golmaal Congress.' It has also started attacking Modi on personal line.

The ground realities are that there is a strong anti-incumbency factor in Telangana, something which even KTR had accepted. It is also a fact that the opposition still is not able to feel confident that it would push the pink party out of power. But yes, certainly it has succeeded in creating panic among the TRS rank and file. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao who was among first to support the Modi government at the centre on many issues and praised him on the floor of the Assembly on several issues including demonetisation has now turned into a big critic of the BJP led government. He has gone to the extent of advocating framing of a new Constitution and coming up with an alternative development plan. The alternative plan that he appears to have in mind is the "model of Golden Telangana." Whether Telangana has really turned into Golden Telangana is an issue of debate

But one thing is certain that the strategy of BJP has pushed the TRS to decide to enter national politics. Probably, it even got the support of political strategist Prashant Kishor. Another thing to note is that PK himself has been wavering in his decisions.

The road ahead for TRS is very bumpy. For a regional party from South to emerge as a major force to challenge the BJP at the centre is not an easy issue. No doubt, the pink party financially is very strong, and it can meet the required poll expenditure. But then money alone cannot always get votes.

Moreover, there is heavy competition for the PM post. TMC's Mamata Banerjee and a host of other leaders including AAP party nurse the ambition of ruling the country. Against this backdrop, the TRS certainly has an uphill task. It has not only to fight to retain power in the state but also to create a mark at the national level.

People are asking one question why governments should resort to dharnas. They are the people in the driver's seat and are competent to take necessary decisions. How does such dharnas help improve the life of farmers or for that matter any other section of the society. They also fail to understand that efforts of polarisation of people, based on caste as is being seen in Andhra Pradesh, may also not cut much ice. People cannot be taken for granted by the ruling parties just because they give some freebies.

Well, the battle has just begun and it is time for people to prove their intelligence or turn into 'Bakras.' Watch out for new developments in next one year.