Will KCR merge BRS with BJP to get daughter freed from jail?

American philosopher and poet Hakim Bey once said that words belong to those who use them only till someone else steals them back. This captures the state of Bharata Rashtra Samiti (BRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), who has been in hibernation for over eight months. This goes against the grain of his nature.

KCR is not only a warrior but also a man of ready wit and biting sarcasm. His speeches never go without cracking a joke at all those who are opposed to him. There is no politician who has not fallen victim to his satire. He has been unrivalled in the art of humiliating others in public. His command over the Telangana dialect, idiom and folklore made him a colourful raconteur that no rival dared to retort.

KCR in acute discomfort

He is now silent as if his words have been stolen by others and he has lost the mojo. The BRS, which lost political power in the November elections, has become a butt of jokes.

His continued stay in his farmhouse, his daughter Kavita’s arrest in the Delhi excise scam, his inability to go to Delhi to meet Kavita, the frequent trips of his son KT Rama Rao and nephew T Harish Rao… all have become source of fun on social media and in political circles.

All this has culminated in intense speculation that KCR is mulling the BRS’ merger with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The poor defence put up by the party to this innuendo has lent credence to the story.

BRS: A pale shadow now

In the good old days, bands of KCR supporters used to pounce on purveyors of such news. They would have attacked the journalists and rampaged the premises. Or the police would have booked a case and harassed their families.

Now, no one is bothered about what is happening to the first family of the BRS. Unable to counter the assault on the party and the patriarch, a defamation petition has been filed against a YouTube channel that ran the story.

What is the story behind?

According to media reports, KCR’s emissaries are in negotiations with BJP leaders in New Delhi for a deal as the former chief minister’s battery of lawyers has proved inadequate to get his daughter released from the Tihar Jail even after 150 days in custody.

As a final resort, KCR is said to be ready even to merge the party with the BJP for the sake of his daughter.

The YouTube channel in question came up with an ‘investigative’ story on the topic.

Governor the mediator?

A leading Telugu daily later carried a full-page report shedding more light on the supposed negotiations.

According to the daily, a Governor who is also a BJP leader is the mediator and that KCR’s son and nephew are in touch with him. It said the two BRS leaders’ frequent trips to Delhi in the name of meeting Kavita are in fact meant to take part in the secret parleys with the governor.

The daily said the Governor was responsible for the deal between the Telugu Desam Party and the BJP in Andhra Pradesh. .

What after a merger?

A final decision will be taken after the Supreme Court’s ruling on Kavita’s bail petition on August 28.

According to the daily, if there is a merger, KCR will be appointed the governor of a state and Harish Rao will be inducted into the Union cabinet and will be made the state BJP chief later.

The BJP is said to be insisting on a merger to prevent KCR from ditching the agreement if it is a tie-up.

Telangana CM adds fuel to fire

Amid all this, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth declared that he foresaw a BRS-BJP merger soon. Although the BRS and BJP leaders deny this, a merger looks certain, he said.

“In all likelihood, KCR will be made a governor while his son Rama Rao will become a Union minister. His nephew, Harish Rao, will be appointed the Leader of the Opposition in the Telangana Assembly. This merger will facilitate Kavita’s release on bail. She will eventually be nominated to the Rajya Sabha,” he said.

KCR party’s denials

At this juncture, KCR’s son and party working president Rama Rao has called the claims a “big lie”.

“Revanth’s comments are part of a strategy to push a false narrative. A chief minister’s utterance won’t make falsehood the truth,” he told the media.

Now, Bandi Sanjay, the state BJP former president and a bitter critic of KCR, said a corrupt politician like the BRS chief was not welcome to the BJP.

“Why KCR, none of the BRS leaders will be admitted into the party,” he asserted. On the contrary, a BRS-Congress merger was on the cards, he said.

BJP leader gives another twist

“The proposal has been there for a long time. Nominating Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who has appeared for Kavita in the Supreme Court, to the Rajya Sabha from Telangana by the Congress is a part of the deal. Why is the Congress not talking about Kaleswaram and telephone tapping cases where KCR’s role is suspected? It’s a quid pro quo for a Congress-BRS merger,” said Bandi, who is also a minister of state for home affairs.

Political commentator Prof E Venkateshu of the Hyderabad Central University discounts a BRS-BJP merger. He feels this would in no way benefit the saffron party which is on the rise in the state.

‘Merger will hurt BJP’

“A merger will damage the BJP's reputation. Because the BJP has projected the BRS as corrupt. Kavita is in jail. The party wants action on KCR in Kaleshwaram and telephone tapping cases. The BRS vote bank is shifting to BJP. Why then a merger?” he asked.

According to him, the merger story looks like a careful ploy of the Congress against the beleaguered KCR.

“It is easy to spread such stories given the situation KCR is in. By this, the Congress can divert the people’s attention from the demand for caste census and 42 per cent reservations in local elections and full implementation of the six election guarantees,” Vekateshu, who teaches political science, told The Federal.