Cong Leaders Turning Formula E Case Into A Potent Political Weapon For BRS

The Revanth Reddy government should handle the Formula E car race case with care and see to it that Telangana should not get a bad name in the eyes of the race organisers if they did not indulge in any corrupt practices. Hyderabad, a home to many MNCs and global IT giants, needs a Formula car race to enhance its global image

Formula 1 car racing is one of the most popular annual sporting events in the world. The 2021 season was watched on television and other electronic devices by over 44.5 crore people. This number is much higher now.

The 2024 Formula 1 season, which concluded recently, was watched by 65 lakh people at various Grand Prix venue, marking it as a record year in terms of physical attendance. According to a recent study by Nielsen Sports, Formula 1 saw its fan base increase to 750 million (75 crore). This shows how popular this elite motorsport is. India, despite being the world’s fifth largest economy and home to 1.45 billion people, has no place on the world’s Formula car racing map.

In September 2003, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the then Chief Minister of the undivided Andhra Pradesh, travelled with a delegation to Monza in Italy and watched the Italian Grand Prix at one of the world’s oldest race tracks. Naidu had a brief meeting with the charismatic Bernie Ecclestone, the then CEO of Formula 1, to bring the F1 race to Hyderabad. But it did not materialise as Naidu lost the Assembly elections a year later and one of the first decisions taken by his successor Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was to shelve this very project.

Eight years later in 2011, the country witnessed its first Formula 1 race at Buddh International Circuit built by Jaypee Group with Rs. 2,000 crore at Greater Noida. However, the race was discontinued three years later over a tax dispute with the Uttar Pradesh government.

Again, India got another chance to host a global car race when Formula E Prix was organised on a street circuit in Hyderabad in February 2023. Like Formula 1, Formula E is a world championship recognised by the global motorsports body FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile), but only electric vehicles are used for racing.

This Hyderabad E-Prix turned out to be a one-off affair as the main sponsor, Greenko, backed out for the second race.

The subsequent hasty decisions taken by Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao (KTR), then Telangana MA&UD Minister, led to the cancellation as he directed Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) to transfer Rs. 45 crore to E-Prix organisers allegedly without following the due process.

The Telangana Congress, led by Anumula Revanth Reddy, which came to power in December 2023 defeating Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) that KTR represented, found violation in the money transfer and filed a case with Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) against KTR and others. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) stepped in to investigate possible money laundering issues in the car race deal. Of course, KTR approached Telangana High Court and secured protection from arrest for 10 days. But he will have to face legal challenges, including arrest.

However, the moot question is if KTR is arrested in the Formula E case, does it benefit him politically? Indian people have a strong notion that politicians are mostly corrupt. They also think the police force is largely corrupt barring a handful of exceptions. So, corruption doesn’t become an electoral issue unless it reaches unbridled levels.

Therefore, any popular politician invariably gets sympathy when he or she is arrested on alleged corruption charges. We can cite many such instances to illustrate this point-YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in May 2012, Revanth Reddy in December 2018, Chandrababu Naidu in September 2023 and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in January 2024. All of them became chief ministers after their arrest! But there are exceptions as well. When ED arrested Kalvakuntla Kavitha, KTR’s sister and daughter of BRS founder Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao, BRS did not get any sympathy. There is a reason for it. Firstly, Kavitha is neither the head of BRS nor has a senior position in the party.

But interestingly, her arrest caused more political damage to BRS in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as she was involved in a liquor case. In our society, alcohol is considered anti-women and the sole reason for problems in many families. So, a woman allegedly indulging in corrupt practices to do liquor business has not gone down well with the Telangana people. Her arrest is the primary reason why BRS drew a blank in the Lok Sabha polls.

Former Delhi Chief Minister and founder of Aam Aadmi Party Arvind Kejriwal is another such example. Kejriwal’s arrest and subsequent jail term also did not benefit AAP in the recent Lok Sabha polls in Delhi as its archrival BJP bagged all four seats. The reason is simple. Kejriwal built his political career on an anti-corruption plank. Corruption charges against him, which seem to have an element of truth given the circumstantial evidence, must have come as a big shock to his support base. On that count, his arrest is unlikely to benefit AAP in the upcoming Assembly polls. But when it comes to KTR, he is now the most popular leader in BRS after his father.

After the debacle in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, BRS gained traction as BJP slipped into disarray once again despite winning eight Lok Sabha seats.

KTR has played a key role in BRS’ rise in recent months. Though BRS has a long way to go before it can give a tough fight to Congress, KTR has consolidated himself as the heir apparent.

Earlier, KCR's nephew and former minister Thanneeru Harish Rao was on the same-footing when it came to popularity. That’s not the case now.

Further, Congress leaders have been talking about KTR's arrest for the past one year. Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, during an official visit to South Korea in October this year, hinted at explosion of two political bombs before Diwali. Quite apparently this was about the possible arrest of KCR and KTR, something that was repeated by many Congress leaders.

But talking about sending KTR to jail even before filing an FIR in the Formula E case can be construed by people as political vendetta. Further, such an attitude takes sheen off the case even if it is genuine. It also weakens the case legally. Moreover, it’s no exaggeration to say that Congress leaders and ministers through their rhetoric have turned the Formula E case into the biggest political weapon for BRS.

It looks like that lack of proper political guidance is the prime reason for that. Even his close associates admit that Revanth Reddy needs good political advisers, who can guide him on the adverse political impact of the decisions he or his government takes. Such a measured approach to key decisions is essential if he wants to get re-elected in 2028. There is also a view that he is being misguided by those officials in his administration, who were close to the previous BRS government.

Anyway, the Revanth Reddy government should handle the Formula E car race case with care and see to it that at the end of the day, Telangana should not run into the bad books of the race organisers. Hyderabad, home to numerous MNCs and global IT giants, needs a Formula car race to enhance its global image. As Hyderabad has a ready street circuit, the State government needs to approach the organisers to continue the race in the city at least for next season. Cancelling the Hyderabad edition for the mistakes that KTR has committed is like throwing the baby with the bathwater.