Where is KCR? Question grows louder as ‘spice’ goes missing from Telangana politics

Former Telangana chief minister and Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) supremo Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao, popularly known as KCR, has been conspicuous by his absence in state politics for 11 long months.

The unusual absence is felt severely because these three letters (KCR) have illuminated the region’s politics in multiple hues between 2001 when he formed the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) to achieve statehood to Telangana, then part of Andhra Pradesh, and 2023, when his party, rechristened as BRS, lost power to Congress.

KCR, the show master

KCR used to set the agenda for state politics. He was synonymous with the Telangana agitation. It was he who gave catchy slogans for the statehood movement. He penned the fiery songs. He forced political parties to toe his line. He made the statehood movement so popular that every household took pride in taking part in it. His speeches transformed every man, woman, the elderly, youth and children, irrespective of caste, into a political activist. Before 2014, as the leader of the Telangana movement, he stood at the centre of politics, and after 2014, till his electoral debacle in 2023, as the chief minister, he made all political parties run for cover with his unpredictable moves.

However, the electoral defeat, first in the Assembly polls in November 2023 followed by a miserable performance in the May 2024 Lok Sabha elections, has so unnerved the man that he chose to confine himself to his farmhouse in his constituency Gajwel.

Also read: Telangana: Where is KCR? What son KTR says about his comeback

Spice missing from state politics

Only once did he show up at the Assembly and take oath as the MLA. He never addressed any meetings outside the farmgate nor did he ever react to the issues rocking the state. Periodic tweets by his son, the party’s working president KT Ramarao or KTR, and photos of his meetings with party leaders circulated on social media are the only sources to know that he is hale and hearty.

A leader known for his push, shove and the gift of the gab, KCR made politics, normally a distasteful chore, an enjoyable spectacle. Due to his command over Telangana idioms and dialects, people used to see his public meetings as delightful stage performances. His biting sarcasm, ready wit and tongue lashing disarmed all those opposed to him. His dog whistle tactics created a scare among his critics. He mastered the art of forming alliances, open pacts and secret treaties. For almost two and a half decades with his vagaries of conduct, he spiced up state politics.

Electoral shocks

But the defeat in the Assembly elections exposed the brittleness of the image he sought to create for himself. And the Lok Sabha debacle when his BRS drew zero has thrown it into existential crisis. Because, the space vacated by the BRS has been filled by the weakling BJP in the areas considered strongholds of the party.

The voices of the personalities he hated — namely now Congress Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and BJP Union minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar — have become louder and louder. A situation has arisen where he has to respond to the men whom he described as disgrace, compelling him to retreat to his farmhouse, located 100 km away from Hyderabad.

KTR now leads BRS

The party is now run by KTR and KCR's nephew T Harish Rao, who are finding it difficult to fill the void left by the inimitable KCR. With the disappearance of KCR, the play of language that enlivened politics is gone. Now, the Telangana politics is sheer war of words and display of rancour minus entertainment.

Why has KCR disappeared into hiding at a time when the party needs his leadership more than ever has become a serious topic of debate in the state.

Also read: Telangana minister Surekha now claims KTR behind KCR’s ‘disappearance’

Family factor at play?

For people like endowments minister Konda Surekha, it was a family coup that silenced patriarch KCR. “KTR is said to be the person behind KCR’s absence. Only once KCR made a lightning appearance at the Assembly. KTR might have done something to stop his father from appearing in public,” she alleged.

Though minister Surekha’s comments are seemingly politically prejudiced, many believe that internal differences in the family over the selection of candidates for Assembly election and subsequent defeat are responsible for KCR’s silence.

Whatever might be the reason, many feel his absence has potential to demoralize the cadre. “Institution of inquiries into charges of corruption by BRS top leadership has already demoralized the cadre. KCR's silence at this juncture has worsened the situation,” opines Dr Tiruanahari Seshu, a political commentator.

‘KCR will bounce back’

In his view, KCR’s prolonged inaction might make a revival of the party a difficult task. “KTR and Harish Rao, in spite of their militancy, are not able to fill the gap left by KCR’s absence. If KCR doesn’t realize this, people might think that the BRS has failed as a main opposition party as well,” said Seshu, who teaches economics at Kakatiya University in Warangal.

Observers like Prof. Karli Srinivasulu see a different angle in KCR’s silence and foresee his comeback at an opportune moment. “KCR is quintessentially a politician. His silence cannot be considered as inaction. Probably, he is waiting for the post-defeat shockwaves to subside. In the meantime, his son and nephew will keep the boat afloat. A few leaders fell silent as a strategy. This has happened in the case of Dr Marri Chennareddy, the protagonist of the 1969 Telangana movement, as well. Every phase of silence was followed by Reddy’s resurgence,” Srinivasulu, senior fellow at ICCSR, told The Federal.

Curtains down for KCR?

Die-hard fans like Mari Yadava Reddy, a former BRS district president of Warangal, also hope that KCR will soon resurface and lead the party. “Who said KCR is silent? He is the master strategist. The effect of his behind the screen deliberations will be felt next year before election to the local bodies,” Yadava Reddy said.

The local media, which thrived on reporting KCR’s theatrics, is also predicting his comeback. However, there is no dearth of people who think that KCR has no option but to settle down for the role of Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad and allow his son KTR, who lost the chance to become the chief minister, to lead the party in future.