AP: TRS turns its attention to 2014 polls

HYDERABAD: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi is eagerly awaiting an announcement on Telangana by the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, for it can make plans to intensify the movement only after assessing the import of the government’s statement.As Telangana has become more or lese elusive, the party leadership is bracing for an electoral battle that lies ahead in 2014. Accordingly, it is strengthening the party base in all the constituencies in the region.The suggestions on making the party strong in constituencies where it is weak was discussed at length at the Politburo meeting on Thursday. The programmes and the strategies would be further fine-tuned at the state committee meeting which is likely to be held soon.Party chief K Chandrasekhara Rao has made it clear that it is either Telangana or agitation.“SRC or any other palliative will not satisfy us,” he said without mincing words.The TRS suspects that the Centre may not thrust SRC on Telangana but might come out with a proposal to create autonomous regional councils to address the myriad problems in the state.After the Centre’s announcement, which the party expects to go against the wishes of the people of Telangana, the TRS thinks more number of Congress and TDP leaders will cross over to it, helping it intensify the movement to derive electoral benefits.The TRS leadership believes that electoral strength alone would help it clinch Telangana.Towards this end, apart from voicing the demand for creation of a separate state, Chandrasekhara Rao wants the party functionaries to take up local issues as well.The farmers’ issues have come in handy for the pink panthers to espouse immediately.The TRS chief wants padayatras taken out from November 16 so that the leaders could be in the midst of the people listening to their grievances and, at the same time, keeping the Telangana flame alight.At the Politburo meeting leaders brought to the notice of the party president how the strong Telangana sentiment could not be exploited by the party for bolstering its electoral strength.The party is still unable to win unstinted support from people living in urban areas of the region.In South Telangana too, where the separate state movement is strong, the party is unable to get political benefits in several constituencies.