The arrest of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K Kavitha could probably not have come at a worse time for the party, which is reeling under defections and losing electoral ground after its defeat in the 2023 Assembly elections.
The BRS won 39 seats and polled 37 per cent of the vote, just two per cent less than the Congress, which stormed to power in the state by winning 64 seats. The BJP substantially improved its vote share and seat tally by polling 14 per cent of the vote – double compared to 2018 – and eight seats, which is an eight-fold increase compared to last time.
The ruling Congress party has already set in motion an operation to lure BRS legislators. Reports indicate that more than a dozen MLAs of the pink party are already in touch with the grand old party. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is, perhaps, waiting to take the number to 26, two-thirds of the BRS' strength in the Assembly, in order to bypass the anti-defection law.
The Congress' electoral performance was weak in Hyderabad and adjoining areas during the elections. On the contrary, the BRS – though it lost power – performed spectacularly in the state capital owing to visible development. The Congress now wants to improve its stake and dent a body blow to the BRS in Hyderabad.