In a development that would cheer up the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) cadre, former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is planning to tour districts from February after recuperating from hip replacement surgery.
KCR, who got injured after a fall at his farmhouse, was operated upon and later shifted to his residence at Banjara Hills. He has not been spotted in public since the Assembly results were declared and only a few could make a courtesy call on him in the hospital.
However, he has been busy speaking to party leaders and well-wishers who called on him at his residence and keeping abreast of political and administrative developments in the State.
In this background, former Finance Minister and Siddipet MLA Harish Rao sent a positive message to the cadre that KCR was recuperating well and would first come to Telangana Bhavan soon and meet the party cadre. BRS is also contemplating to draw a plan for his visit to districts to infuse confidence among the leaders and cadre, who are down after their shocking defeat in the elections.
Such is the shock that a majority of Ministers too had to bite the dust in the Congress wave in rural Telangana where the BRS fared very badly. With the Parliament elections in a few months, there is a lot of confusion among the cadre on the future of the party with the ruling Congress and BJP trying to be assertive using their power.
A close confidant of KCR told The Hindu that the former CM was aware of the cadre’s dilemma and said that he would have to infuse confidence if the party had to see some success. In fact, the Parliamentary preparatory meetings started by BRS, much before the Congress and BJP, were the former CM’s idea to save the ground-level leadership from deserting them with the Congress and BJP trying to woo them.
Though KCR is hurt by the ‘unexpected’ results in the Assembly polls, he is a seasoned politician to understand the dynamics much better than district and lower-level leaders, agreed the close confidant.
“KCR is also of the view that if the party fails to perform in the Lok Sabha elections, it will further deplete the cadre with the ruling party encouraging desertions at all levels. The only way to stop even the MLAs from leaving the party is by bagging not less than 6 to 7 seats in the Parliament elections,” he said.
The party leaders feel that KCR’s entry in the field will change the mood dramatically and people will rally behind him as they still perceive him as a champion despite the electoral defeat.
