
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is set to rope in political consultancy I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee), which was started by political strategist Prashant Kishor. Early talks that have been held under the leadership of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) have not yet focussed on the Assembly elections next year or the general elections in 2024, but a source told TNM that TRS first wants I-PAC to work towards building a narrative around BJP's anti-incumbency by highlighting problems of the party’s rule across the country.
While doing so, KCR and other regional leaders — though the former more prominently — will be projected as a better option for the country.
“Yes, I-Pac will look at the 2023 elections, but that is not the conversation now. KCR wants a dialogue on how the BJP has been performing — the anti-incumbency and also highlighting why BJP is detrimental for a state like Telangana that could be severely hit if there is any sort of polarisation,” the source said.
According to well placed sources, political strategist Sunil Konugolu of Association of Brilliant Minds held talks with TRS president KCR and working president K Taraka Ramarao (KTR) in November, while political consultant Prashant Kishor met with them last December. At one point, KCR suggested that the two teams work together. However, this partnership did not materialise.
TNM has learnt that the TRS and I-PAC will most likely work together from the first week of March to take the reins on KCR’s plans to foray into the national arena. Recently, KCR has held charged press meets in which he has criticised the Narendra Modi-led Union government on various issues. In statements, he has discussed forming a front to unseat the BJP from the Union government and hate-centric politics. KCR has said that he would play a "major role" in forming an anti-BJP coalition in the days to come.
Another source told TNM that other than his political ambitions, KCR also wants to clearly position himself as an adversary to the BJP. “When the ED went after Mamata Banerjee’s bureaucrats in West Bengal, she could clearly take a stand that she was being victimised by the BJP for fervently opposing them. KCR expects a fallout with the BJP in the future over many things. He wants to position himself before that. This is another reason why he has gone soft on the Congress recently.”
The TRS came into power for the second time in the state in 2018, with 88 Assembly seats and over a dozen MLAs in its fold as they shifted loyalties from Congress and TDP. However, in the Lok Sabha elections, TRS won only nine seats, leaving three seats to Congress, four to the newly-founded Opposition BJP and one to the AIMIM.
I-PAC had earlier worked with the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP. Jagan was successful in unseating Chandrababu Naidu's TDP in Andhra Pradesh in 2019.