Will Rythu Bandhu Scheme (RBS) win the next election for the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti party? Will the investment support of a whopping ₹ 6,000 crore given to the farming community eventually translate into a favourable vote for the party?
These are the questions which are now exercising the minds of politicians of every hue. The ruling and opposition parties seem to believe that their ‘future’ depends upon the kind of response the farmers are likely to give to the investment support funding and hence, the leaders are found seeking answers to the questions from anyone they come across.
In erstwhile undivided Adilabad district no incumbent public representative right from MLA, MP to sarpanch is sure of a renomination from their party going by two performance reports which Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao had himself released in 2016 and 2017. Even Ministers Jogu Ramanna and A. Indrakaran Reddy, representing Adilabad and Nirmal Assembly constituencies, have fared dismally in the surveys commissioned by Mr. Rao.
The government itself had come under severe criticism for its handling of the crop loan waiver which made it seem that farmers had developed antagonism towards the ruling party. “The intensity of efforts of many a ruling party leader in either getting a party ticket or towards crossing over into Congress or Bharatiya Janata Party or any other outfit will depend upon the kind of impact that the RBS has created,” pointed out a senior TRS leader.
Fence-jumping
Jumping fences is not new to political leaders in old Adilabad. Barring government whip Nallala Odelu, representing Chennur (ST) Assembly constituency, and Boath MLA Rathod Bapu Rao, all others originally belong to Congress or Telugu Desam Party and had joined TRS either before the 2014 election or after winning in that election.
The ruling party politicians, especially sitting MLAs and MPs, did heave a sigh of relief initially when the huge task of RBS cheque distribution went smoothly as it was assumed to have earned goodwill for the government. Their euphoria however, was short lived as glaring mistakes in the pattadar passbook entries began emerging within a few days into the exercise which had a large number of farmers blaming the government for the faulty entries.
Entry errors
“The mistakes in pattadar passbooks can be counter-productive as a good number of farmers will even lose their lands,” opined an MLA from one of the constituencies in the eastern side of old Adilabad district. “I am receiving several complaints from angry farmers who are blaming the government for the faulty entries in the passbooks,” he added, talking of the negative aspects of the RBS.
“Such a situation will be ideal for us to garner the anti government votes,” observed a Congress party leader but he did not want to be quoted.
“The RBS will not translate into votes for the TRS,” he asserted.
