After the debacle in Assembly polls held last year, BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao seems to have turned over a new leaf. Ahead of Lok Sabha elections, Rao more popularly known as KCR is opting more mass contacts through road shows and bus yatra instead of large public rallies and on the BRS formation day he also made his debut on social media platform ‘X’.
As the chief minister, Rao had his own CMO handle, run by a social media team where press releases and other information used to be posted. But now KCR, in his new avatar, is more keen to engage with the BRS activists and supporters and hence decided to have his own handle on ‘X’.
One of the criticisms that Rao faced during his tenure was that unlike the days of Telangana agitation when he led his people from the front, chief minister KCR remained aloof from his people. The Opposition called him “the farmhouse chief minister” and accused him of staying away in his farmhouse in Erravalli whenever the state faced any crisis.
After his defeat the party decided to seek feedback on the reasons for the debacle and it was suggested that the BRS and its chief should look into alternate ways of electioneering and increase mass contact since the big public rally where the crowd was largely mobilised and hence disinterested, was not working.
Instead KCR opted for the road show format where he could address a smaller but more spontaneous crowd and easily connect to them. So far his bus yatra has been a success, drawing an exuberant crowd everywhere. Many of his supporters say, “the old vintage KCR was back.”
Even on ‘X’ KCR was aggressive, criticising the Congress government in Telangana over power cuts. In a long post in Telugu KCR wrote, “An hour ago I was having lunch at the house of Mahabubnagar MP candidate Manne Srinivas Reddy and former MLAs at the house of former minister Srinivas Goud when power went out twice…The former legislators who were with me told me on this occasion that electricity goes off ten times a day in their respective constituencies. What can be a greater proof of the administrative failure of the Congress party which is ruling the state? The people of the state and intellectuals should think.”
Though most social media handles of politicians are handled by their team KCR is described as “pretty hands on” when it comes to technology. A person in his close circle recalled how he had given a power point presentation on irrigation in the Assembly as chief minister. He had used Google Earth a unique geo mapping technology to prepare the presentation for three or four months on his own with the help of a computer operator. “KCR has a curious mind,” he said about the former chief minister who is also a bibliophile.
Rao seems to have jumped back on the bandwagon, shaking off his stupor after the defeat and it spells doom for the Congress which is yet to come out of the elation of victory.