The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) received a major setback in the just concluded by-election to the Jubilee Hills seat with the Congress wresting the seat with a massive majority of nearly 25,000 votes.
And party insiders fear that the setback may soon escalate into a much bigger crisis for party chief and former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, as many of the party leaders are said to be looking up to the Congress and the BJP to secure their political future.
“The by-poll defeat has triggered widespread despondency within the BRS rank and file, fuelling discussions about leadership, strategy, and the party’s shrinking relevance, particularly in Greater Hyderabad,” sources said.
KCR’s prolonged confinement to his farmhouse and limited engagement with party affairs have become a major point of discussion among senior leaders.
Although working president K T Rama Rao (KTR) led the Jubilee Hills campaign, the party’s defeat is being seen internally as a serious blow to his leadership credentials.
Party insiders say that KTR’s inability to retain the seat has led to murmurs branding him a “failed leader,” and has intensified doubts over whether the party can rely on him to steer the organisation through crisis.
Already, 10 BRS MLAs have defected to the Congress since the Assembly elections.
Now, sources indicate that another group of nearly 10 legislators — mostly from Greater Hyderabad — is actively considering a switch to the ruling Congress party.
These MLAs are reportedly in touch with senior Congress leaders in Delhi and have been closely observing political developments in the state.
Initially, many were hesitant to move fearing public resentment against the Congress government.
But the Jubilee Hills verdict, which saw the Congress candidate win decisively, has signalled a possible shift in voter sentiment.
The outcome has convinced several BRS legislators that the party no longer enjoys public support, prompting them to revisit their earlier decision to stay back.
The Congress high command, however, is said to be examining both legal and political implications of accommodating a large group of opposition MLAs.
A mass defection could trigger disqualification petitions or floor test complications, party sources say.
If another round of defections takes place, analysts say it could inflict a crippling blow to KCR’s already weakened political position.
The BRS has suffered repeated setbacks over the past year, but a fresh exodus from its stronghold in Greater Hyderabad could push the party into an existential crisis.
