KCR PLOTS ANOTHER PINK WAVE

A DIVIDED OPPOSITION AND THE LACK OF A STRONG ANTIINCUMBENCY WAVE ARE THE BIGGEST PLUSES IN THE TELANGANA CM'S BID FOR A THIRD TERM

- Amarnath K. Menon

On June 2, Bharat Rashtra Samithi supremo K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) flagged off the 21-day decennial celebrations to mark the formation of Telangana. The “longest-serving Telugu chief minister"also crisscrossed the state to inaugurate a string of new projects. Of course, this being an election year, KCR spared no effort in highlighting his government’s achievements, and the most visible of these are the irrigation projects. Telangana now irrigates some 7.5 million acres of farmland, and the CM is promising water for another 5 million acres. “This will help us achieve the target of irrigating 12.5 million acres. The progress is there for everyone to see. Our per capita income is now Rs 3.17 lakh, more than double what it was in 2014 when Telangana was formed. The GSDP is Rs 12.9 lakh crore, up from Rs 5 lakh crore in 2014,"says KCR, trotting out the numbers.

The CM’s minders say he is taking strategic steps to secure his party’s success in the upcoming assembly election. The focus now is reportedly on specific communities and implementing policies that address their exact needs to ensure support. Meanwhile, in the run-up to the polls, the BRS is hoping that nothing rocks the ship—that the flow of investment remains steady and the rural economy revives through the slew of initiatives for farmers such as the Rythu Bandhu (investment support), Rythu Bima (group life insurance) and uninterrupted power supply. Except that the state is strapped for cash. With market borrowings of Rs 40,150 crore in 2022-23, the government’s outstanding liabilities currently stand at 25.3 per cent of GSDP.

PROMISES, PROMISES