Will Sops See Him Through?

Apart From The Maha Kutami Opposition Alliance, KCR Is Also Battling His Own Autocratic Image

- Amarnath K. Menon

ASTROLOGY MIGHT UNDO THE first-mover advantage Telangana chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) had hoped for when he dissolved the 119-seat legislative assembly on September 6, nine months ahead of a full term. Both polling day—December 7, that falls on amavasya or New Moon Day—and the day of counting of votes—December 11, a Tuesday—are considered inauspicious. But first the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief has more down-to-earth problems on his mind.

KCR has set himself an ambitious target of winning a 100 seats and cornering at least 50 per cent of the popular vote. To this end, he is relying heavily on the various sops he has announced with the widest possible outreach. He is trying to ensure that each family benefits from at least three of the 40 major development and welfare schemes, in which his government has pumped a staggering Rs 2,18,377 crore into since June 2014. The government claims 15 million of the state’s 21.4 million rural population has benefitted from these. Were one to total all the various schemes, their number would be over 69.2 million, nearly double the 35.2 million population of Telangana. This, the ruling party is convinced, will help it reap rich dividends at the hustings.