The exit polls released by national and local agencies, a couple of days ago, left the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao in a state of confusion. He was happy that the exit polls predicted a big win for the TRS in the Lok Sabha polls but was concerned that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was emerging as an alternative force in the state.
Rao held a meeting with his party leaders to discuss and analyse the exit polls. The exit polls predicted an increased vote share for the BJP in Telangana though it may not win commensurate seats. Rao is contemplating regarding the policy to be adopted if the BJP gets back to power at the Centre as predicted by the exit polls. He cannot maintain good ties with the BJP if it is emerging as an alternative force in the state.
KCR had already put in efforts to decimate all the opposition parties in Telangana after the formation of separate state in 2014. Congress was the main opposition party in the state but following heavy exodus of its leaders to the TRS, the Grand Old Party is fighting for its own survival in the state, forget about giving a tough fight to the ruling TRS.
Additionally, he has taken steps and ensured that the Congress loses its main opposition status in the Legislative Council. Now, he is planning to adopt the same strategy and decimate the Congress in the Legislative Assembly, with 11 of the total 19 Congress MLAs already declaring that they would join the TRS.
While the ruling TRS was celebrating over the entire opposition losing its identity in Telangana, the likelihood of emergence of a new force in the state is worrying the TRS chief as it would pose a challenge to him in the Assembly polls in 2024. If the BJP wins at the Centre, KCR has to adopt a policy that would help him check its growth in the state.
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