Is PM Narendra Modi hell-bent on defeating KCR in 2023 polls?

Let's leave political rhetoric to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his opponents. For it's not our cup of tea. But politics without any rhetoric makes electoral battlefields insipid. Anyway, let's save it for another day.

Coming to the issue on hand, Narendra Modi is the most powerful politician in India now. And he is more popular than BJP, the political party he represents. If he scores a hat-trick by winning a third consecutive term as Prime Minister of India in 2024 (which is most likely as of now), he will set a record in the post-Nehru era. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first Prime Minister, won three times on the trot. And Modi will be the second person to do so. Even Indira Gandhi, often dubbed Durga of Indian politics, could not achieve this rare feat.

Being such a powerful person, Modi came to Telangana twice in a matter of few months and that too, with a clear political message. In February, he was in Hyderabad to inaugurate the Statue of Equality, a 216-foot tall statue of 11th-century saint Ramanujacharya installed at Chinna Jeeyar Swamy's ashram at Muchintal on the city outskirts. The Prime Minister came to the city again on May 26 as the Chief Guest for Indian School of Business' 2022 Convocation. During his second visit, he addressed BJP workers wherein he gave a strong political message on the need for defeating family-run political parties which he termed as the biggest threat to India's democracy. This strong comment was obviously targeted at Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), Telangana Chief Minister and president of Telangana Rastra Samithi (TRS), who gave a miss to both of PM's events as he started nursing national political ambitions. Is this an indication that PM Modi is hell-bent on defeating KCR in the 2023 Telangana Assembly polls? It looks like so.

Going by his demeanour in the last eight years, PM Modi never took Telangana seriously when it came to his political ambitions. There are valid reasons for that. Telangana is a small State with just 17 Lok Sabha MP seats. Furthermore, it is not being ruled by Congress, which BJP still considers as its archrival! Though local BJP leaders left no stone unturned to showcase BJP as the mainrival to TRS in Telangana, Modi never gave such signals.

But this seemed to have altered now after KCR deliberately provoked the strongman from Gujarat on multiple fronts. The TRS supremo and his party questioned the efficacy of Gujarat Model of development. For the uninitiated, Modi, who was Chief Minister of Gujarat for nearly 13 years from 2001 to 2014, showcased the development in Gujarat under his tenure to create a wave in favour of BJP and himself across the country after the saffron party projected him as the prime ministerial candidate for 2014 General Elections. That strategy paid rich political dividends for BJP. By questioning the Gujarat model of development and pitching his Telangana model of development as a better alternative for the country, KCR hit Modi where it hurts the most: Modi's very roots that took him to where he is now.

Secondly, KCR made personal attacks against the Prime Minister, castigating his appearance and attire. Expecting Modi to take such personal attacks in a light vein, is naivety. Thirdly, cash rich TRS is rumoured to have been extending decent financial support to Opposition parties across the country in one election after another. Last but not the least, BJP is the strongest political party in India now with over 300 MPs and power in multiple States including Uttar Pradesh, the country's largest one. TRS, which has just 9 MPs and is confined to a relatively small State, is questioning its might! So, it is very unlikely that the saffron brigade will remain silent.

KCR also seems to be yearning for a bitter rivalry with BJP and Prime Minister because such a scenario will elevate his image at the national level. As a shrewd politician, he knows very well that there is a clear political vacuum in India when it comes to the Opposition space. The Indian National Congress (INC) is still the largest Opposition party with presence in multiple States. But neither Rahul Gandhi nor his sister Priyanka Gandhi, the heirs apparent of the Grand Old Party, is a match to Narendra Modi. So, sensing an opportunity at national level, KCR is adopting the same strategy that Narendra Modi deployed in 2014: Showcasing the Telangana model of development. However, it is not easy for KCR to go national. Unlike Modi who has the backing of BJP which has a well-established political network across India, TRS that KCR founded, hardly has a presence outside Telangana. It will be interesting to see what KCR will do on this front.

Anyway, KCR has to win the 2023 Assembly elections first to stay relevant for the 2024 General Elections. That's more crucial for him. He may be of the view that his national gameplan will help TRS in the Assembly elections. If push comes to shove, he may go for the 'Telangana Pride versus Delhi Darbar' strategy to corner the main rivals in his home turf.

But by taking on Modi head-on, KCR will face the biggest political test of his life. Of course, the test is of his own making. But Modi is no Sonia Gandhi who helplessly watched by side after creating Telanganaeven as KCR decimated her own party in the newly created State. Modi will not hesitate to use any weapon in his armoury to create hurdles for KCR on all fronts. This game has already begun with the central government creating hurdles for Telangana when it comes to raising funds. And it will continue.

But winning Telangana is not easy for BJP as it is still not a formidable force here. The saffron party may gun for power in Telangana if it succeeds in attracting stronger leaders from rival parties, who can tilt scales in its favour in at least in 75-80 Assembly constituencies, not figureheads like yesteryears' actress Vijayashanti. That's a monumental task. But the Modi-Shah team did that in several States.

However, there is a tricky issue here. In Telangana, BJP is riding on a double-edged sword. It will be in a soup if it goes too far and defeats TRS, but doesn't win in the State. In that scenario, Revanth Reddy-led Congress will walk away with the victory trophy. Congress' victory always tastes bitter for Modi and his party, isn't it? But Modi sounded a poll bugle for the Telangana elections from the hurriedly-organised meet at Begumpet Airport before he headed to ISB last week. Let's wait for its result in 2023.