The drubbing that the Bharata Rashtra Samithi received in the Jubilee Hills bypoll last week has once again sent strong signals that ‘Brand KTR’, projecting party working president K.T. Rama Rao as urbane and suave, is losing its sheen among his core base — the metropolitan electorate that had rejected the Congress outright in the 2023 Assembly elections.
Hyderabad: The drubbing that the Bharata Rashtra Samithi received in the Jubilee Hills bypoll last week has once again sent strong signals that ‘Brand KTR’, projecting party working president K.T. Rama Rao as urbane and suave, is losing its sheen among his core base — the metropolitan electorate that had rejected the Congress outright in the 2023 Assembly elections.
Feedback received by the party that the metropolitan electorate is disapproving of his obstructive approach to development work in the capital city, in sharp contrast to his earlier progressive image, is only adding to the worries of the cadre. Rama Rao’s obsession with social media-centric politics has also been causing unease among the party leaders.
With one more electoral loss, after the defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, the Secunderabad Cantonment bypoll going the Congress’ way last year and the party staying away from the MLC (Graduates Constituencies) elections, serious questions are being raised within the party over Rama Rao’s leadership, under which the BRS in all likelihood would go to the next general elections, sources said.
“It is well known that KTR is the urban face and Harish Rao is the rural face for the party. In 2023, we credited KTR with the party’s resounding victory in a majority of Assembly segments in the metropolitan area, which indeed was a saving grace. We have to admit that he has failed the party in all subsequent polls,” said a senior party MLA.
On several occasions, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has stressed the need to continue development of the capital city, the sole economic growth engine for Telangana, referring to the contribution of all Chief Ministers since N. Chandrababu Naidu in undivided Andhra Pradesh.
According to party insiders, the urban electorate is shocked to see Rama Rao’s volte face on issues relating to city development. Demonising HYDRAA which is clearing lake encroachments, opposing Musi rejuvenation and creating a controversy out of government’s efforts to monetise Kancha Gachibowli land were some of the moves that did not go down well with the urbanites, said a party leader.
“The people’s perception of KCR’s family as arrogant has contributed a lot to party’s defeat and it will worsen if KTR continues to exhibit the trait,” said V. Prakash, a political analyst who was once a confidant of party supremo K. Chandrasekhar Rao. Attempts to portray Congress Jubilee Hills candidate Naveen Yadav as a rowdy, contrary to his “pucca local” image and public perception of being an accessible leader, was an act of ignorance and arrogance combined, and it boomeranged on the BRS, Prakash said, adding that Rama Rao, however, was in the process of introspection and would emerge as a strong leader.
Party sources also said that Rama Rao was over-confident that the BRS would win Jubilee Hills and neglected poll management. “The leadership’s total failure to build an organisational base all these years reflected in Jubilee Hills,” said Prakash referring to party suffering due either to the absence of polling agents in several booths or switching of loyalties by those appointed to represent the party.
