The seemingly unstoppable political journey of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has hit a roadblock.
The Congress is poised for a significant victory in Telangana, and Mr. Rao, a two-time Chief Minister, is trailing in one of the two seats he is contesting.
While he maintains the lead in his stronghold of Gajwel constituency, he is lagging behind in Kamareddy, where he faces stiff competition from the youthful state Congress chief Revanth Reddy.
Formerly known as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, now rebranded as Bharat Rashtra Samithi, the party had spearheaded the statehood movement, enjoying unwavering public support for a decade since the formation of the state in 2014. However, the winds of change are blowing in Telangana.
The shift in public sentiment is partially attributed to corruption allegations against Mr. Rao and senior party leaders. Adding to the blow was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's revelation that Mr. Rao had sought to join the NDA but was rejected.
The Congress, riding high on its success in neighboring Karnataka, seized the opportunity, claiming a covert alliance between BRS and the BJP.
Additionally, it highlighted the fact that, unlike leaders of Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party, Mr. Rao's daughter K Kavitha faced no questioning or arrest by central agencies, despite her name being linked to the Delhi liquor scam.
For the past decade, Mr. Rao harbored national aspirations. Prior to the 2019 general election, he engaged with various opposition leaders, attempting to form a coalition excluding the Congress and the BJP. Although this initiative failed, Mr. Rao persisted.
As the Opposition solidified the India coalition, he sought alliances with leaders such as Arvind Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav, who have been critical of the Congress.
In a significant move, he renamed his party, shifting its focus from Telangana to Bharat. Many questioned this change, suggesting it might not resonate well with the people of the fledgling state.
The election results seem to validate those concerns. The Congress is currently leading in 65 of Telangana's 119 seats, while the BRS is ahead on only 41 seats – a sharp decline from its 2018 tally of 88 seats.
