Insights on Telangana: Congress Leader Syam Prasad Meka Discusses Exit Polls for 2023 Assembly Elections and Analyses Factors Favouring the Party. Speculation Arises on the Fate of BRS After Two Consecutive Terms in Power. Watch Congress' views on what worked in Congress' favour in the state.
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00:00 would have believed when it comes to BRS or earlier known as TRS, nine to ten years, nine
00:08 years of continuous rule there in K. Chandrasekhar Rao. What reasons do you feel that people
00:14 could not have or have chosen not to repose faith in KCR's party whereas the figures for
00:22 Congress obviously have gained a lot of momentum?
00:25 I will tell you, list out the reasons. One, it was always perceived or sold in the media
00:34 as if it is a one horse race. There is no challenger to BRS. That is the perception
00:41 that the BRS was trying to sell earlier. But once the Bharat Jodo Yatra is completed and
00:48 Congress party got its house in order and then registered a couple of victories in Himachal
00:54 and Karnataka, then people saw that there is a serious challenger. That's one reason.
01:01 Second reason is there is this craving for change for the people because after the formation
01:07 of the state, we haven't seen anything else. Whatever we have is only a surplus state that
01:13 is formed and whatever KCR and KTR are telling, there is no benchmark to compare it. So that's
01:20 why people wanted a change. And third, Congress came up with the agenda and not just some
01:33 stupid set of promises, right? Congress did its homework, reached out to people, spoke
01:39 to lot of sections of people, understood the issues of the people and tried to package
01:45 that in its manifesto. And I think that's also gave a good confidence to the people
01:53 in choosing the alternative. I think these three are the main reasons apart from the
01:58 four negative main reason is there is a visible arrogance in the rank and file of BRS. There
02:08 is a visible arrogance from top to bottom. Probably they might not mean it, but it is
02:13 visible at every level. I think that they need to do some soul searching. I think these
02:20 are the main four reasons.
02:22 Right, right. Obviously, you know, for an incumbent government and the Chief Minister,
02:30 you know, even the law of averages at times appears to be catching up. Now that these
02:36 are the exit polls numbers, the final figures would be out on the 3rd of December. If Raven
02:43 Reddy ji takes the oath as the Chief Minister of Telangana, what is it that the party would
02:52 do differently from what KCR failed to do for the state?
02:58 I am not going to stick my neck out and say who is going to take oath as Chief Minister.
03:03 It will be a Congress government, okay, sure. But I am telling you how it will be different
03:11 from BRS or BJP is, every Congress worker like me, we are going to take the manifesto
03:20 and sit in Gandhi Bhavan and hold this government accountable for each line in the manifesto.
03:24 We are not going to leave them like that. We are not going to sit back and relax. That
03:32 is what Congress is going to do. We are going to hold our own government accountable to
03:37 the people of this state. That will be the major difference.
03:43 Right, right. Mr. Prasad, one also key aspect which, you know, the state of Rajasthan is
03:53 projecting, we are coming from Telangana to Rajasthan here. Rajasthan once again ruled
03:57 by Congress for the last 5 years and has the tradition of bringing alternate governments.
04:03 We have seen Ashok Gehlot government also banking on 7 promises, okay, and the promises
04:10 and the guarantees we have seen in Karnataka as well. Do you believe that Karnataka actually
04:18 formed the backbone for states like say Telangana, Rajasthan, although the numbers are pointing
04:25 to a different tally altogether for Ashok Gehlot government, but do you believe that
04:29 the guarantees that the Congress party is coming up with is the actual force to reckon
04:36 with? See, I will tell you something. In the election
04:41 strategy, you can't simply say a 10 page document, right? People can't remember. It won't register.
04:50 You are giving a crux of it. You are saying 6 guarantees. It gets registered. People look
04:57 at what you are actually saying. So that's the tactical strategic point of view. Second
05:03 is you can see how successful it is because once Congress is talking about the guarantees
05:12 in its manifesto and in its campaign, Prime Minister and BJP is speaking our language.
05:19 Prime Minister is day in day out going and talking about guarantees, a Modika guarantee.
05:24 That means the narrative is set by Congress and the Congress is leading the narrative
05:31 while Prime Minister is catching up, trying to catch up with Congress. So that's the significant
05:37 change that is happening in the campaigns, unlike a couple of years ago.
05:43 Right, right. The critical aspect you mentioned there. For, you know, many political funders,
05:51 Shyam Prakash, Shyam Prasadji, many political funders also mentioned these elections to
05:57 be precursor of 2024. We saw Bharat Jodo Yatra done by Rahul Gandhi ji from, you know, northern
06:05 part to the northern part of the country, southern part to northern part. Do you believe
06:09 that the impact had started paying up now and it will last till 2024 as far as the national
06:16 elections are concerned? I walked in the Yatra. I'm not speaking from
06:23 the air. I walked in the Yatra until Srinagar. It has a huge, huge impact.
06:33 Many people, analysts might come and say, hey, this changed the image of Rahul Gandhi.
06:39 These are all surface level issues. Yes, true, image is changed. That is a surface level
06:45 issue. At the core of it, at the core of it, people who are afraid of taking on this regime,
06:54 they got a hope that there is a challenger in this country.
06:59 Second, the center core of the political discourse is turned away from superficial issues. Rahul
07:13 Gandhi is changing the political discourse right from Bharat Jodo Yatra. You look at
07:19 it. See, because I'm a congressman, you might say I'm fully biased. Look at what will happen
07:27 in a typical BJP supporter narrative. You speak to people, I speak to people. They will
07:34 tell you, entire world is bowing down to Modi. These are all what? Good to hear, feel good,
07:55 laugh, talk. There is nothing. Now what Rahul Gandhi is saying is, instead of getting cheated
08:04 by the claimed achievements of others, look into your own lives. Your lived experiences
08:13 are much better. Hold the governments and political parties accountable based on your
08:19 lives and based on your future. That is the significant change that is happening.
08:24 Still I'm telling you, we might, congress people might win all five states on 3rd December,
08:32 but keep your head down. Our battle is not over. We have a lot of work to do and we need
08:39 to continue on this path. Don't get ahead of yourself.
08:44 Absolutely. And for that, Shambhu Sadzi, definitely. I mean, see, the sentiments that you are echoing,
08:52 the examples that you gave, there are several voices that are questioning and challenging
08:57 them as well. But for Rahul Gandhi per se, or for that matter, congress, to come up as
09:03 a very tangible and sizable opposition, be it via India alliance, be it independently,
09:10 what steps do you think as of now, from here on, from December to April to May of next
09:16 year, if you could share with us some strategies that congress will be working on?
09:20 Obviously I'm not, but this is the general direction. This is the general direction.
09:27 You look at it. Now, we want to bring the constitutional values like social justice
09:36 to the center of the political discourse, not the empty slogans. We are working out
09:41 with various parties and within congress party also. That's the beauty of congress. Congress
09:46 will have every spectrum of thought in it. We are trying to find that balance within
09:52 the party and within the political ecosystem of the country. And that's what we are going
10:00 to do. And that will come out, that will bring out an agenda for the battle lines for 2024.
10:08 Battle lines are, for Rahul Gandhi or it's not about congress party, for us, the battle
10:17 lines are clear. We Indians need to decide who we are, what kind of society we want to
10:23 be, what kind of people we want to be. Do we want to be just thumping, fist pumping,
10:28 jingoistic nation, hate filled, hate filled and self-self-appraising all the time? Or
10:36 do we want to be a matured nation and a civilization that leads the world and while loving all
10:44 the people, while hating some of our people, do we want to say proudly Bharat Mata Ki Jai
10:49 or do we want to open Mohabbatein Gupta to include everybody in India? That is the question
10:56 in front of India for the 2024 battle. And we are going to draw that line very, very
11:02 clearly. Right. Shyam Prasad ji.
11:05 Obviously, the image and the beating that BJP faced at the hands of opposition during
11:13 campaigning was mainly on the factors of religious divide. And that is something that BJP also
11:20 knows that in turn it works for them as far as the northern part of the country is concerned.
11:27 With Telangana coming to Congress's kitty, do you believe that the major forces to reckon
11:38 with against the BJP would emanate from the south in 2024?
11:44 Yeah, some thoughts are emanating from south, but forces are emanating from north as well.
11:51 I am not so pessimistic about northern India. Just there are, see, hate, anger, these are
11:59 quick emotions. It is easy to capture people with those emotions while love and hope will
12:08 take time. But we are ready. But the important thing is if Congress getting Telangana, the
12:16 important thing is, this is the major case study that Congress is wresting back power
12:21 from a regional player. It's okay, we will fight with BJP, that is happening. But Congress
12:28 in many states, once it slipped to third position or it loses power to a strong regional player,
12:36 it almost never recovered in the recent memory. That's why our recovery in Telangana and our
12:43 recovery going to be in Mizoram is a very, very, very strong signal. And that's going
12:51 to actually change the political landscape of the country.
12:55 Right, right. Shams, one final question before I let you go is, now that the decks are clear
13:04 and barring the state of Rajasthan, as of now, Congress has decent performances. If
13:12 these are the exit poll numbers are something to go by, we'll have to wait and watch what
13:15 happens on December the 3rd. But from here on, if Congress, you know, tastes average
13:24 or maximum victory in these elections, do you believe that that would be the final push
13:30 that Congress needed just before the elections?
13:33 I would say not the push. I, congressmen and women don't get arrogant. Don't get arrogant.
13:44 Keep your head down, continue.
13:46 That's your message. So, so, so obviously, not letting this power beat in Telangana.
13:56 I mean, the focus obviously 2024. But obviously, you know, the challenge with the BJP, is it
14:02 not going to be easy January 2024, Ram temple would come and as it is understood, you know,
14:09 BJP would be going to the town saying that they got it done, which was not done for the
14:13 last, you know, 50 to 60 years, then the talk of new parliament. So how does Congress also
14:20 plan to tackle that narrative of the BJP when it comes to mass appeals?
14:26 The challenge that is happening, a lot of people are not recognizing it is, Congress
14:32 is no more afraid to actually take BJP head on. It's okay. Congress nowadays is not, earlier
14:39 Congress is afraid. Oh, we say this thing, they're going to polarize, they're going to
14:44 do that, this. Now, which is no more happening. There are voices in Congress. No, no, don't
14:50 worry, people will see through, speak the truth. That is the line in which Congress
14:55 is going on. And for example, I will tell you, take a couple of years ago, Congress
15:01 people were afraid at BJP's campaign machinery. As Bharat Jyot started, they started attacking
15:10 the t-shirt. Do you actually observe, Rahul Gandhi is still in that t-shirt?
15:16 Right, right. Absolutely, absolutely.
15:19 I'm telling you, right. I'm attacking you. People are seeing the hallowness in your criticism.
15:27 Right, right.
15:28 Game is over. While Congress and Rahul Gandhi are giving them the usual traps so that they
15:38 continue their divisive and nonsensical agenda while we are talking about the people's issues.
15:43 For example, recently also, what did they take up in Rahul Gandhi's speech? He's talking
15:49 about so many people's issues and they took a bit and saying, oh, he's asking who is Bharat
15:58 Mata. Did he?
16:00 Right.
16:01 People have seen through all this.
16:06 I have, you're right. I mean, I was speaking to Supriya Srinidhi when she was in Jaipur
16:11 and she told me, categorically, that now the time has come to reply to BJP or any opposition
16:19 in the same coin. So what you are talking about, I fully understand about a changed
16:25 stance from the Congress as far as taking on the opposition is concerned.
16:31 The simple thing is, what Congress party believes in, don't be defensive about your own values.
16:38 You don't need to be. That's what BJP and RSS were successful for the past decade. That's
16:45 what they did. I'm sad to agree that a lot of Congress, my fellow Congress persons, fell
16:52 into that trap.
16:55 So aggression is the key, basically.
16:59 Not aggression. Having a strong belief in what you believe and believe in the people
17:04 that they'll see through. You don't need to be aggressive like BJP. You don't need to
17:08 shout from the rooftops. Stick to what you believe. Don't let BJP drive your agenda and
17:15 people will see through. That's about it.
17:18 Well that looks like, Shamprasadji, at least in the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh,
17:26 it has worked. I mean, so long as the Congress kept its head down and let the people and
17:33 the work do the talking. Thank you so much, Shamprasadji, for talking to One India News.
17:38 Always a pleasure to speak to you. And we definitely, definitely hope to speak to you
17:42 on 3rd of December. So please take time out for One India also. Thank you so much.