As announced, retired IPS officer from Telangana Dr R S Praveen Kumar joined the Bahujan Samaj Party at a huge rally held at Nalgonda on Sunday and vowed to bring Bahujan Rajyam (rule of the downtrodden) in Telangana.
Praveen Kumar’s massive show of strength was promptly highlighted in the media.
Especially, the Telugu media gave him a massive coverage on the front page with the headline quoting him that he would go to Pragathi Bhavan on an elephant (election symbol of BSP) after the next elections.
Having gained tremendous influence among the Dalits due to his Swaero Movement in the last nine years, Praveen Kumar will definitely be a threat to the mainstream parties – the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Congress and the BJP in the next elections.
However, it all depends on his future strategies.
The retired IPS officer’s entry into active politics in Telangana has triggered a debate in the media circles as to which party would be the most affected by the BSP.
According to an analyst, Praveen Kumar might eat into the vote banks of all the three major parties and the TRS would have to face the biggest brunt.
Interestingly, there is also a discussion on the impact of Praveen Kumar on the prospects of YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP), a new regional party launched by Y S Sharmila, daughter of former chief minister of combined Andhra Pradesh Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy.
Analysts say Praveen Kumar’s entry would play a spoil sport with whatever little chances Sharmila party would have to make its presence felt in the next elections, because most of the voters Sharmila has been planning to attract might turn towards the BSP.
“Hitherto, there were some calculations that Sharmila’s party would have chances of winning half a dozen assembly seats, if not more, particularly in Khammam and Nalgonda districts. But now, the chances are bleak for her as Praveen Kumar is focussing on polarising the SC, ST and BC voters in the state,” an analyst said.
If Sharmila has to sustain her party in the state, she has to adopt an aggressive approach, pool all her resources and come out with innovative strategies.
Otherwise, she would end up like what Jana Sena Party was in Andhra Pradesh in 2019 elections.
