BRS acting president KT Rama Rao – the son of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao – has claimed that the hype around a possible Congress victory in the ongoing assembly elections in the state was baseless and his party would return to power easily.
In a candid discussion with Outlook Managing Editor Satish Padmanabhan and other senior journalists, Rao attacked both the BJP and the Congress for being ‘arrogant’, and said that the BRS was looking to expand beyond Telangana, especially in Maharashtra.
He alleged that the Congress had fielded ‘dummy candidates’ against BJP hardliners in the state like sitting MLA Raja Singh, and insisted that the BRS had never aligned with the BJP even at the municipal level. Rao also called Rahul Gandhi an ‘inept leader’ and questioned his party’s ability to take the BJP head-on in a direct fight.
#Telangana #TelanganaAssemblyPolls #Congress #BRS #KCR KChandrashekarRao #KTRamaRao #Congress #BJP #Elections2023 #AssemblyPolls
In a candid discussion with Outlook Managing Editor Satish Padmanabhan and other senior journalists, Rao attacked both the BJP and the Congress for being ‘arrogant’, and said that the BRS was looking to expand beyond Telangana, especially in Maharashtra.
He alleged that the Congress had fielded ‘dummy candidates’ against BJP hardliners in the state like sitting MLA Raja Singh, and insisted that the BRS had never aligned with the BJP even at the municipal level. Rao also called Rahul Gandhi an ‘inept leader’ and questioned his party’s ability to take the BJP head-on in a direct fight.
#Telangana #TelanganaAssemblyPolls #Congress #BRS #KCR KChandrashekarRao #KTRamaRao #Congress #BJP #Elections2023 #AssemblyPolls
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NewsTranscript
00:00 That's exactly what's happening with Congress in Kerala.
00:02 They were in abysmally, like almost gone, gone state about six months ago.
00:08 Now, the fact that they're showing some signs of resurgence because BJP,
00:14 which was flying high till six, eight months ago, suddenly started dipping.
00:18 You know, and basically is nowhere like.
00:20 Why?
00:20 I'll come to that.
00:22 I think that's a long-winded answer.
00:24 So what happened is whatever the BJP had momentum going for it about six, eight months ago,
00:29 that has slowly shifted because that is anti-BRS, anti-PCR.
00:33 That slowly started shifting to Congress.
00:36 So as a result, what happens is when the expectation is so low on you,
00:40 and when the base is so low, whatever little upsurge you have,
00:43 it looks like you've done something truly outstanding.
00:45 And of course, my credit where it's due.
00:47 What's also happening is a lot of these social media chatter, the strategist,
00:52 the voice, word of voice that gets spread in today's world, you know,
00:56 how these event managers have become, you know, kind of important, etc.
01:01 So all that chatter that's happening.
01:03 See, first thing I'll tell you, election is a psychological game.
01:08 It's a game of, it's a mind game.
01:11 And in the last four weeks or so, what has happened is a little bit of that has been,
01:18 you know, created a sort of a hype has been created in social media and other words around Congress.
01:24 But to tell you something more, 2018 when we went into an election,
01:28 I mean exactly five years ago, it was the same mood.
01:31 You know, Congress leaders, you know, have this habit of painting their houses,
01:34 stitching up new clothes, announcing swearing-in days.
01:37 They have this unusual habit.
01:39 They've done the same thing last time as well.
01:41 Congress president last time had said, I won't shave my beard.
01:44 He still has one.
01:45 Last time, you know, if he's going to lose.
01:49 So we've seen this, the hype, you know, that we've created.
01:52 Last time, Sanjay Babu aligned with Congress in telling them.
01:55 So it was all hyped up that Sanjay Babu is here, the IRS is over.
01:59 Yeah, so it's nothing new.
02:01 But I can tell you with a lot of confidence that you will be surprised on the 3rd of December
02:06 that we will actually, we'll actually be almost on the same number as last time.
02:12 Of course, Pranav Takai, if you ask me, my personal opinion is that it was the BJP
02:18 which threw away the election three years ago.
02:21 It wasn't the Congress which won it.
02:23 It was actually the BJP throwing it away and the Congress winning it by default.
02:27 Congress has not done nothing outstanding.
02:29 They've just managed to keep their flock together.
02:32 Make sure Sidhu and BK didn't fight and that didn't spill out in the open.
02:37 All that BJP did was basically threw out, what's his name, Hidurappa, who got in Bommai.
02:43 Couldn't do anything about the 40% commission charges from contractors,
02:47 40% commission charges from school management, 40% commission charges from Mutts.
02:52 All kinds of perception that was created.
02:55 They never tried to neutralize it or do something about it.
02:58 This whole squeaky clean thing that Modi ji speaks about,
03:01 na khaunga, na khaane guna, etc. etc.
03:04 None of that was actually implemented on the government in Karnataka.
03:07 So as a result, the writing was on the wall.
03:10 The writing was on the wall.
03:12 I might just illustrate so I know better.
03:14 We could see from hundreds of kilometers that this was a goner.
03:17 So all that the Congress had to do was keep its flock together,
03:21 fight an election coherently and that's about it.
03:23 That's all that happened.
03:24 As a result in Telangana, whatever BJP was kind of hyping up,
03:30 that came to a knot because the entire south for that matter, in the six states,
03:35 BJP was never taken seriously by anybody.
03:39 Except in Karnataka where they made a foray because of Hidurappa.
03:42 And now that Hidurappa is gone, I don't think BJP is taken seriously by anybody in the south.
03:48 The point is, incumbency is an issue.
03:51 But always, election to election what happens there is,
03:54 10 people who haven't voted for you last time,
03:57 you know that, who voted for you last time,
04:00 will not vote for you this time, you know that.
04:02 So what a smart politician or a smart political party would do is,
04:06 15 people who haven't voted for you last time, swing them your way.
04:09 That's what the game is all about.
04:11 So I think, yes, anti-incumbency is an issue.
04:15 10 years is an issue.
04:16 Two terms in governance is an issue.
04:18 But good governance is also an issue, sir.
04:20 Work with people who say that ID, inquiring Rahul and Sonia is bad,
04:25 but ID not inquiring or inquiring into KCR is good.
04:30 The selective amnesia, selective, you know, kind of attacks, will not help the cause.
04:36 What we've realized after making a few meetings, after having a few meetings is,
04:40 that this won't happen.
04:42 This confusion, you know, this temporary formations that happen,
04:46 without any commonality of purpose.
04:48 You know, commonality of purpose also should not be about dislodging something.
04:52 It should never be about, remove this, we'll see later.
04:55 Not that.
04:56 I don't think that's the right approach.
04:58 If it is for a cause, if it is for the betterment of India,
05:01 if it is for the common good of India,
05:03 saying, these are 4-5 items, we agree on this, so that's why we come together.
05:06 That's a different thing.
05:07 But removing one person, removing this, you're making him strong unnecessarily.
05:11 So what we decided is that we are better off fighting on our own.
05:14 So we said we'll convert our party into a national party.
05:17 We have made it.
05:18 We will make inroads into Maharashtra.
05:20 And we have 48 seats.
05:21 If we win the elections here, if we win 5-10 there also,
05:24 then who knows what will happen.
05:26 And one last thing, sir, that the arrogance of Congress and BJP,
05:30 they have so much arrogance, so much sense of entitlement.
05:33 We are surprised to see that, what do they think of themselves?
05:36 They think that either Modi or Rahul should be there.
05:39 No one else should be there.
05:41 Either you are with us or against us.
05:43 Who the hell are you to decide that?
05:45 If someone comes and asks that you are not in the India Alliance,
05:48 that's why you are with Modi.
05:50 Then where is it written in the Constitution that either you stay here or there?
05:53 There are 13 parties in the world.
05:56 13 parties are not aligned to either of the two camps.
05:59 So what does that mean?
06:00 What that means essentially is that neither of these two political parties
06:04 are able to inspire confidence or have it in them,
06:06 shed their arrogant attitude and carry everybody like an equal.
06:10 They think everybody is a subordinate.
06:12 They think everybody is just a surrogate.
06:14 That is arrogance and unbridled ignorance at its best.
06:18 What about your relations with BJP?
06:20 One picks up this that there are some friendly fights in some constituencies.
06:25 Friendly fights between Congress and BJP in Telangana.
06:28 I will give you three examples. Please inquire on that.
06:30 There is a seat called Ghoshamahal here where there is a rabble rouser called Raja Singh
06:35 who utters nonsense day in day out.
06:37 This is a police case against him.
06:39 We put him in the PD Act.
06:41 He came out after three months.
06:43 We put him in.
06:45 So this man is a rabble rouser.
06:48 He says nothing but Hindu and Muslim.
06:51 Congress has put up a dummy candidate against this man.
06:54 Then there are two more rabble rousers of BJP.
06:57 One is Bandy Sanjay who was here till…
06:59 He says that we will dig a mosque.
07:01 If a shiv comes out, it is yours.
07:03 If a shiv comes out, it is ours.
07:05 He is such a fool.
07:06 So against him also, they have put up a dummy candidate.
07:10 Along with that, there is another one, Dharmapuri Arvind
07:12 who utters nonsense day in day out.
07:15 Another MP, another BJP leader.
07:17 And again, same thing.
07:19 Another dummy candidate there.
07:21 So three rabble rousers and hardcore Hindutva champions.
07:26 I don't think they are even Hindutva champions.
07:28 They are just idiots.
07:29 But these three idiots, against them, Congress has fielded absolute dummies.
07:34 We fought. This is our fifth general election.
07:37 Since the time our party was formed in 2001.
07:41 This is the fifth general election we have fought.
07:44 We had alliances two times.
07:46 In 2004, we aligned with Congress because the Congress is still in power.
07:49 2009, we aligned with the Communists and the TDP against the Congress then.
07:55 And 2014, 2018 and 2023, we are fighting on our own.
07:59 In the last 23 years of our party history,
08:03 we have not even aligned with BJP in a local body election.
08:06 We did not align in the Municipal elections, in the District elections.
08:09 You will be surprised to know that here,
08:12 Uma Sudhir did not tell you, we should have told you.
08:16 You will see the conflict between Congress and BJP in two municipalities.
08:20 Makthal and Manikonda.
08:23 Wherever BJP has run into a strong opposition,
08:28 like Didi, like Kejriwal, like Yusuf,
08:31 they have been able to withhold them or Stalin.
08:33 Wherever the BJP runs into Rahul,
08:36 they just team roll.
08:38 It's a fact. Rahul is an inept leader.
08:41 Congress is an inept party.
08:43 Karnataka was an exception though.
08:45 Karnataka was an exception not because of Rahul or Sonia ji.
08:48 It was default. It was won by default.
08:51 BJP threw them away three years back.
08:53 Show me one election where Congress actually fought it and won.
08:58 Show me one election where Congress actually took them head on.
09:02 And won it. Why did Rahul avoid Gujarat and Bharat Jogya?
09:06 Was there a tacit understanding?
09:09 You go all the way to Maharashtra and then take a detour.
09:12 And end up in Delhi.
09:14 When there is an election happening in Gujarat, what kind of a leader are you?
09:17 You should win or lose before the election.
09:19 At least fight.
09:21 You don't fight.
09:23 Then you dream of becoming a Prime Minister.
09:25 Where did that come from?
09:27 My point is, wherever the Congress has had a direct face-off with BJP,
09:31 they have been proven that BJP will just bulldoze them.
09:36 For lack of a better word. Sorry.
09:38 I mean, bulldozer is popular where you come from.
09:41 (Laughter)
09:43 My point is...
09:45 You are from UP.
09:47 You are all from Delhi. So my contempt is worse.
09:52 We do believe that there is a huge flux of fluidity in Maharashtra right now.
09:58 Because, you know, Udhav Thakre's party is split.
10:01 Sharath Bawar's party is split.
10:03 People in BJP are pissed off. People in Congress are completely rudderless.
10:07 So we see an opportunity there because we see a thousand kilometer border with them.
10:13 And all the good work that happens, you know, the beti-roti relation as they call it,
10:16 between Maharashtra and Telangana has always been there.
10:19 Time immemorial. And remember, they were also part of the Hyderabad state in the past.
10:24 So there is a lot of cultural affinity.
10:27 In fact, Shivraj Patel, who was a former HM, a former speaker as well,
10:32 was also part of the Hyderabad state.
10:34 In fact, my father and he were in the same cabinet in UPA 1.
10:37 And my father fondly reminisces about the sparring they had with the Prime Minister.
10:43 Both of them ganged up and started saying about the pension of the freedom fighters of Hyderabad state.
10:49 So there's plenty of anecdotal nice history.
10:53 So there is a good opportunity for us to probably make a strong entry into Maharashtra.
10:59 And post this election, when we win, I think there will be a number of MLAs and MPs from Maharashtra who will be inclined to join.
11:06 I think you have done it after this assembly election because it seems that it's, no, the name change.
11:10 It seems like it's diluting it maybe in the rural side, rural areas that, you know,
11:14 what a party which was, you know, there for the state, you know, which sort of fought the movement.
11:19 That there seems to be a little dilution there.
11:22 No, sir. In fact, what I would say is this.
11:25 One, name has changed. DNA is the same. Flag is the same. Leader is the same. Symbol is the same.
11:32 Our agenda is the same. So the name has changed. That is one thing.
11:36 Now you change the name of Bombay to Mumbai. What difference does it make?
11:40 That is the same thing with other things.
11:44 And the second thing is, in fact, to also invoke a bit of pride when it comes to national election.
11:49 We believe, our man is going to Delhi.
11:52 So why not, you know, root for him, support him and get him a chance to make a splash in Delhi.
12:00 That also will probably work in our field.
12:03 You know, I wanted to ask a related question to this.
12:06 Not about this election, generally about the South. You know, you said that we are not the North.
12:10 You know, this is not the cow belt. Why is it that so far in Indian, in the Indian democracy,
12:15 there has not even been an all pervasive Southern party?
12:19 I mean, you know, they've all been within the states, you know, a DMK or an AIDMK in Tamil Nadu.
12:24 You know, the Telugu party is here.
12:27 They have not even gone beyond the boundaries of their own states, with the neighboring states.
12:32 Why hasn't there been a dominant Southern party, you know, to take on this North?
12:37 I mean, as a politician, why do you think that has not happened?
12:40 With so many similarities in culture, in language, you know, in behavior.
12:46 There isn't much similar, unfortunately.
12:50 Some people say there are two Indians. I believe there are 28 Indians.
12:55 Honestly, and each of us, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra,
13:00 Telangana, Andhra at least have language in common, but everybody else,
13:05 we like each other's cultures, we respect each other, we've done rather well compared to the rest of India.
13:11 But there isn't a lot that binds us together. I mean, we're as close to Maharashtra as we are to probably Karnataka, as we are to Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
13:21 But not as much as close to say Haryana or...
13:25 Geographically speaking, there is a South India, there is a West India, there is a North India, there is an East India.
13:29 But, geographically speaking, there isn't much that binds us together.
13:34 But yes, it's a valid question if the entire North of India can have BJP, you know, kind of emerge as a leader.
13:42 Maybe, maybe, time will tell.
13:44 [END]
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