THE LONG ROAD TO DELHI

Since everyone is on a yatra, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, who made his national ambitions evident by renaming the Telangana Rashtra Samithi TRS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi BRS) on Dussehra, is not one to be left behind.

- Amarnath K. Menon

He is planning a road journey to Delhi, covering Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana among other states. What's left is the search for fellow travellers the biggest challenge in his grand plan to stitch up an alternative to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party BJP) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

KCR will be addressing a rally in the national capital on December 9. It’s the eve of Human Rights Day, and hence the stated objective: to put a spotlight on the alleged suppression of rights and liberties’ under the BJP-led Union government. However, the event is seen as a possible show of strength for both him and his BRS the name change is yet to be formalised), which will soon have a party office at Vasant Vihar in Delhi. The choice of date is significant for another reason as well—it was on the night of December 9, 2009, that the then United Progressive Alliance UPA) government accepted KCR’s demand for aseparate Telangana state, bringing to an end his 11-day hunger strike.