Next assembly election will be a test ground for RS Praveen Kumar and YS Sharmila
Next assembly election will be a test ground for RS Praveen Kumar and YS Sharmila
While Munugode by-election will be a litmus test for them. Telangana Rashtra Samithi,CongressS and BJP, two little-known parties in the state – BSP led by former IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar and YSR Telangana Party of YS Sharmila, daughter of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy and sister of current Chief Minister. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy – striving hard to write a new chapter for politics in the state.
Ms Sharmila, who undertook a marathon padyatra in support of her jailed brother before the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, has completed 130 days of yet another 1,700 km statewide padyatra. His campaign is mainly focused on winning the trust of unemployed youth and farmers. He relies heavily on the legacy of his father, who still commands respect among some classes. She calls herself the ‘Bahu’ of the state. Her husband Anil Kumar, a popular Christian preacher, is from Telangana. She also hopes to get the support of the powerful Reddy community to which she belongs.
Mr. Praveen Kumar, who joined the BSP last August, is popular among students and marginalized communities. His innovative methods as secretary for improving the education system in Telangana Social Welfare and Tribal Welfare residential educational institutions society have gained appreciation. A Dalit from the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district, Mr. Praveen Kumar has the support of Swaroz, a non-profit organization of alumni of state-run social welfare residential schools, of which he is the founding president.
However, election results in combined AP and Telangana showed that smaller parties have failed to garner popular support. Since 1993, when BSP founder Kanshi Ram addressed a huge gathering in Hyderabad and later contested the 1994 assembly elections, the party has been regularly entering electoral battles, but with little success. It made its electoral debut in the assembly in 2004, when its candidate Lek Rajarao won from the Paderu Scheduled Tribe constituency. The party won two seats in the 2014 Telangana Assembly elections.
In the 2014 assembly elections, Shri Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) won three seats and in the Lok Sabha elections, one seat. After Partition, the YSRCP leadership decided to focus only on AP. Other parties also tried. in Telangana, but with little success. The Left showed no signs of revival.
Shri Praveen Kumar’s first task is to bridge the gap between the Mala and the Madiga sub-castes. Madiga leaders have been demanding classification as a Scheduled Caste on the grounds that Mala is enjoying all the benefits. Their number is more in Telangana. But this is a difficult task. Well-known Dalit faces in Telangana are either with the Congress or the TRS and are unlikely to join the BSP. Also Telangana is not known for voting on the basis of caste. But Mr. Praveen Kumar hopes to change the scenario with his image as a leader of Dalits.
It will be a tough task for YSRTP to make electoral gains as there is less space for new parties. Relying only on her father’s legacy may not work for Ms. Sharmila. Even the voters of AP and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh, now settled in Telangana, may think twice before supporting the YSRTP. Their apprehensions of a backlash have been largely allayed after the formation of Telangana. The occupations and other interests of these classes have remained intact. But small parties can always change the fortunes of big parties.
ravi.reddy@thehindu.co.in