Triumph & Disaster: Treat the two impostors just the same

Alexandre Dumas, the author of ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ and ‘The Three Musketeers,’ coined the proverb ‘Nothing Succeeds Like Success,’ which implicitly means that, ‘Success Breeds Further Success.’ If someone is successful once, chances of their success in the future are better. Further, if a person was successful in one thing, then that person is more likely to be successful in many things. Notwithstanding anything aforementioned, concerted effort is essential.

Similarly, another proverb, ‘Failures are the Pillars of Success,’ hints at, ‘Failure is Life's Greatest Teacher,’ and an opportunity to build an unsuccessful person’s strength. Failure, in fact, is only a ‘Suspended Success’ for any person, until the right moment comes, if in the meantime, they work hard with consistent and appropriate strategy. While failure shows what one should not do, success tells what one needs to do. If decisions that caused failure are critically analysed with an unbiased mind, possibilities of success are higher.

Albert Einstein, an influential scientist, observed that, ‘Failure is success in progress,’ provided, one does not give up and keeps fighting incessantly. Only when a person pursues victory determinedly, he stands to win at some point. Dale Carnegie, a teacher in self-improvement and interpersonal skills, professed that, “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two stepping stones to success.”

The recently concluded Telangana State Assembly elections and the results favoring the Congress party led by Anumula Revanth Reddy and defeat to Bharat Rashtra Samithi led by Kalvakuntla Chandrashekhar Rao, aptly fit in to these adages of ‘Nothing Succeeds Like Success’ and ‘Failures are the Pillars of Success.’ Revanth Reddy fought incessantly and never gave up in pursuit of victory and achieved it. On the other hand, KCR’s failure is only a ‘Suspended Success’ and he may have to wait for the right moment to stage a comeback with an appropriate strategy. The two imposters, ‘Triumph and Disaster’ are a good experience to them respectively.

The new Chief Minister of Telangana, Revanth Reddy, started his successful political career as ZPTC Member and soon got elected as MLC as an independent. Like ‘Nothing succeeds like success’ he was elected as MLA from Kodangal constituency in 2009 and in 2014. Having tasted his first defeat in the 2018 Telangana Assembly Elections from Kodangal, and in accordance with the adage, ‘Failures are the Pillars of Success,’ he made a marvelous and great comeback, by winning Lok Sabha Seat from Malkajgiri Constituency.

Revanth Reddy slowly proved that ‘Success Breeds Further Success.’ Consequent to his appointment as President of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, two and a half years ago, Revanth Reddy, with a consistent and appropriate strategy and determination, led the Congress' successful campaign in the 2023 Telangana Legislative Assembly elections. He won Kodangal seat, which he lost in 2018. He, however, lost from Kamareddy. Thus, moving from success to failure to grand dsuccess. Revanth Reddy repeated the achievements of Dr M Chenna Reddy who defeated NTR’s TDP in 1989, and Dr YS Rajshekhara Reddy who defeated Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP in 2004, to bring back the Congress party to power.

Kalvakuntla Chandrashekhar Rao, perhaps, the ‘Most Successful Chief Minister of Telangana’ for two terms, made his unsuccessful debut into electoral politics in 1983 from Siddipet Assembly Constituency. But he continued his spree of success after success and never looked back till the other day. Treating that first failure as a sheer ‘Suspended Success,’ KCR waited for the right opportunity, which came in just a year, when he successfully contested from the same Siddipet in 1985 and became a first time MLA. And from then onwards, for him, it was ‘Nothing Succeeds Like Success.’

KCR won four times consecutively from Siddipet, from 1985 to 1999 and served in NTR and Chandrababu Naidu Cabinets and was also Deputy Speaker. After the formation of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in 2001, KCR’s success story sustained. He won in 2004 elections from Siddipet Assembly Constituency for the fifth time and also from Karimnagar Lok Sabha Constituency. He retained the MP seat and became a Union Cabinet Minister in the UPA Government at the Centre. KCR resigned as MP in 2006 as a challenge to the Congress and won and then repeated the feat. In 2009, KCR won from Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha Constituency.

In 2014 elections, KCR was elected as an MLA from Gajwel Assembly Constituency and as an MP from Medak. TRS led by KCR emerged victorious by winning 11 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats and 63 of the 119 Assembly seats. He was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Telangana State on 2 June 2014. In September 2018, CM KCR dissolved the Telangana Legislative Assembly, and then, after winning 88 seats in the Elections held in November 2018, KCR was re-elected as Chief Minister for a second term in December 2018.

In spite of incredible and unprecedented wealth and prosperity creation for all sections of people and ‘Enabling Governance’ during the past nine-and-a-half years, registering an exceptional growth, voters preferred Congress Party. He also tasted his second electoral defeat after 40 years, by losing one (Kamareddy) of the two seats he contested but winning the other (Gajwel). Perhaps, KCR gave people ‘More than what they Needed’ without a scientific ‘Need Analysis.’ In a similar manner, and probably unmindful of pros and cons, the Congress party and CM Revanth Reddy, soon after the swearing-in, signed on the file related to the ‘Six Guarantees.’ Later, the Cabinet gave its approval and decided to implement two of them from December 9.

‘Winners focus on winning and Losers focus on winners.’ Why do leaders sometimes win (Success) and sometimes lose (Failure)? ‘Win or Lose,’ the best quality of a leader shall be to set a good example to their team. It is better if losers reconcile to, ‘Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is certainly ours to win.’ Losing elections, sometimes even badly, and later resurrecting, is a common feature in an evolving democracy like India, where it has come to stay despite some hiccups. In any democracy the absolutely permanent entity is ‘Changing’ and even ‘Ever Changing.’ No leader or party is permanent in power.

‘Crownless Queen,’ Indira Gandhi, despite her populist slogans like Garibi Hatao and Bank Nationalization, tasted miserable defeat in the 1977 Elections, following the Emergency Excesses. For the first time, the Congress party lost power at center, and Indira lost her MP seat. However, she returned to power triumphantly, thanks to Internal feud between Janata Party Leaders and political instability, that worked in favor of Indira Gandhi and her Congress Party. Voters preferred a stable Government. NT Rama Rao’s TDP that came to power with a big bang in 1983, was defeated in 1989 by Congress Party led by Dr Chenna Reddy in united AP. NTR was defeated in Kalvakurthy. Apart from these two examples, losing badly in elections and returning to power triumphantly with passage of time is a general feature.

Rudyard Kipling, a British Indian author, in his poem 'IF', writes that, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too: If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two impostors just the same; If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run, yours is the Earth and everything that is in it, And, which is more, you will be a Man, my son!”

Therefore, the two impostors, ‘Triumph and Disaster’ shall be treated just the same. If one is carried away with Triumph, it may lead to downfall (Disaster). Working hard after disaster would lead to success (Triumph). Wish both the leaders success always.

(Writer is Chief Public Relations Officer to the Chief Minister, Telangana)