KCR, it would seem, has seen through the media-generated hype surrounding Chiranjeevi. On Monday evening IST, he addressed an impromptu meeting cautioning the TRS cadre against falling for glamour and selling their votes short. This was as clear an indication as any that TRS is not going to partner with Praja Rajyam for the 2009 assembly polls. The rough and tumble side of politics is slowly revealing itself to Chiranjeevi. The expected deluge of defections that were supposed to happen, have literally stopped or slowed down to a trickle. KCR’s statement is directly aimed to reduce the impact of Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam party on the Telengana electorate. He correctly has decided to back the maturity of his voters as opposed to the perceived glamour of so-called stars who have long ago crossed their sell-by date. He has in a manner of speaking dared to call the bluff. Like all big moments go, this one too has gone unnoticed. Many might think of it as nothing more than a small pin prick. But In challenging Chiranjeevi’s charisma quotient, KCR has aimed this pin prick at Praja Rajyam’s heart. If KCR’s rhetoric finds an audience (as it usually does) Chiranjeevi has more than a challenge on his hands. He will be forced to join hands with Devender Goud’s NTPP, which by itself is having a rather cold reception from the public.
It is now becoming increasingly likely that KCR will join hands with Chandrababu. Everything else being equal both TDP and TRS would hope that this will ensure a clean sweep of the 110 seats; like the way it happened in 2004. The flip side being, this alliance will hurt Chandrababu’s chances in the Coastal and Rayalaseema districts. This is the vexing problem that Chandrababu was confronted with by Devender Goud. In the ensuing developments he let Devender Goud drift away. On KCR’s side he would be aware of the fact that Chandrababu in 2008 has a much better presence in Telengana than the Congress did in 2004. So he will be forced to concede more seats to the TDP now than he did to the Congress then. Also he will be aware that the TDP in its current situation does not have any credible clout in Delhi. Its third front lies in tatters. Even if the Congress were to concede Delhi, the party most likely to step in would be the BJP. Chandrababu has long ago burnt his bridges with the BJP. At least with the Congress, he had a union ministry to exercise due pressures on the national level. With the BJP, he cannot be assured of such leeway. These are the tradeoffs that KCR will be pondering about.
However in the immediate future, Chandrababu and KCR will be willing to overlook all these. In politics there are only permanent interests, not permanent allies. And both these leaders share a rather immediate and permanent interest – to get Congress out. On its part, a resurgent Congress will do everything to sustain the momentum that it achieved in the by polls earlier this year. D.Srinivas (unlike Keshava Rao) is a politician from the old school. He is a man of tact and in Dr YSR he has found a leader with whom he enjoys total compatibility. KCR will be aware that if there is one leader from the Congress who can lay claim to the Telengana sentiment it is the current APCC president. He is a BC leader who commands respect from the cadre as well as attention from the leadership in Delhi. Considering all these, KCR and Chandrababu have little choice except to sail together. For Chiranjeevi this development will surely be a bitter pill to swallow. He is not used to being cold shouldered by people. But politics is a cruel task master. And like he observed recently, it is really not a bed of roses.
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