For a party with 5 crore members—more than the population of many countries—losing an election is not an option. Any loss would be a setback to the TRS’s aim of ushering in the “golden era” when the pink party will rule from panchayat to Assembly, and every district in between. This spirit drives the TRS’s formidable election machinery as municipal polls draw near in Telangana state.
The first set of elections since the KCR government was reconfirmed in power with a brute majority in the assembly will show whether the party’s popularity and the near-hegemonic position it has come to occupy in Telangana politics remains intact.
TRS leaders are confident that the party will retain all municipality seats with bigger margins. “Our popularity has only grown since the victory in the assembly polls,” says spokesperson. “With its daring decisions in its first 100 days, the government has reinforced people’s trust and confidence in the TRS. Our work is the proof of our commitment to the people. We don’t use false claims for mere politics.”
While local issues may be important in municipal polls, TRS leaders believe issues like civic concerns, development, water, agriculture, power and security, which the party plans to highlight as key poll planks, resonate with everyone and plan to cash in on populist welfare schemes and weaker sections favour policies, projected as some of the government’s major achievements. CM KCR and party chief KTR have extensively talked about these during their engagements in the poll-bound areas and diversified public meetings.
Party president KCR is convinced that the TRS will sweep the polls in all municipalities. “Next in line is party leadership and posts,” he says. With the Opposition in disarray, the Telangana polity seems to be heading towards unipolarity with the TRS as the single dominant party. “The Opposition, including the AIMIM and Congress, refuses to be the other pole,” spokesman tells #KhabarLive.
Recently, KTR too raised questions about the efficacy of the multi-party system, saying that 70 years after independence, people have doubts if the system has failed to meet the country’s goals. #KhabarLive
