Telangana cash-for-vote scandal: Chandrababu's image in real danger
If the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders and cadre have a spring in their step as Telangana celebrates its first birthday, it is not because of the cake alone. The icing on the cake has been the manner in which the party's political foe Chandrababu Naidu has been pushed to a corner. Thanks to Naidu's braggart colleague, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief finds himself stung badly. And I must compliment the quality of the spy cameras used by the Telangana anti-corruption bureau (ACB) because the different angles gave a 360-degree view of the depraved world of Indian politics.
For those who came in late, TDP's deputy leader in the Telangana assembly, Revanth Reddy, was caught on tape last Sunday allegedly attempting to bribe a nominated member of legislative assembly (MLA) Elvis Stephenson ahead of the member of legislative council (MLC) polls. The TDP's desperation reportedly to take the road frequented by politicians was to avoid the embarrassment of not winning a single MLC seat in elections that were held on June 1. In the bargain, a cocky Reddy walked into a trap, failing to use his olfactory organ to sniff trouble. What's worse, in those tapes which are now in the public domain, he takes Naidu's name directly and indirectly (the reference to "Boss") more than 20 times, making the TDP supremo seem like a co-conspirator.
The TRS has been quick to take advantage. Its ministers have claimed that the ACB has evidence of Naidu's conversations with Stephenson. The TDP, by crying hoarse about Naidu's phones being tapped, has lent credence to the claims that the Andhra Pradesh chief minister did speak to the nominated MLA.
Naidu faces a real perception threat now: the threat of being stripped of the cloak of an honest politician that he wears. Naidu never tires of boasting that he and Jaganmohan Reddy are not cut from the same cloth. Now, he can at best protest that Jagan, who faces several cases of corruption and keeps making court appearances, has the audacity to take potshots at him. But in the public eye, the facts on the ground question Naidu's "no stain on me" claim.
The TRS is having the last laugh. Here is a party that has liberally and rather unethically admitted turncoats from the TDP and Congress in the last one year to bolster its strength in the Telangana Assembly. TDP leaders like Srinivas Yadav and Tummala Nageswara Rao, who spent years in Naidu's company, are now ministers in K Chandrashekar Rao's (KCR) cabinet. MLAs have been wooed aggressively to cut Naidu to size in Telangana. TDP MLAs claim they have been promised personal benefits and sops for constituency development if they hop from the TDP bicycle into the TRS car (election symbol). "Political realignment" is the name given to this aya ram gaya ram brand of politics.
Whether Naidu is made an accused in the chargesheet or not will depend on KCR's political calculations. The chorus within the TRS and pro-TRS outfits is to keep up the pressure on Naidu by playing mindgames.
Meanwhile, the BJP in Telangana is having second thoughts over being seen in Naidu's company. One section in the party led by its president Kishen Reddy was always opposed to the alliance. Now it has reason to back up its argument that the lotus cannot bloom in such political muck.