TRS, BJP vying for Telangana employees’ support

HYDERABAD: An intense campaign has been undertaken by both the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — the two key affiliates of the Telangana Joint Action Committee (T-JAC) — over the last couple of weeks to woo employee JAC leaders.
The recent bypoll setback in Mahbubnagar came as something of an eye-opener for the TRS which has now substantially strengthened its liaison with office-bearers of the 28 T-JAC affiliates.Party sources said they could ill-afford to keep employee JAC members or their affiliates out of the loop while taking crucial decisions on the separate statehood movement.
A T-JAC source said that TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and his core team, which used to rely on only a handful of T-JAC leaders, have realized the necessity of taking even the second-rung employee leaders along with them on every decision after they were found to be leaning towards BJP.
The first signs of unease between TRS and T-JAC came to the fore in January when some affiliates of the latter foiled KCR’s gameplan to kick-start, following Sankranthi, another round of ‘Sakala Janula Samme’ with the active support of government employees.
That plan met with stiff resistance from employees — mostly teachers and RTC workers, most of whom were of the view that they had achieved little through two rounds of strike, the 42-day Sakala Janula Samme included.
The TRS chief has been wooing government employees with assurances such as a month’s salary to them as increment, salary compensation for the strike period with interest and pay packages on a par with central government employees’ in the state. That apart, he has also promised MLA, MLC and MP tickets to employee leaders, cancellation of controversial appointments made during the recent round of APPSC recruitments and scrapping of GO 177 which enforces the ‘no work no pay’ rule.
Employees’ JAC sources said that ever since BJP won the Mahabubnagar seat, more T-JAC affiliates were keen on reviewing their earlier stand of unconditional support to TRS. More so because it is a regional party which is seen as being of little help at the national level vis-à-vis the separate statehood movement.
Meanwhile, top employees’ JAC leaders, who did not wish to be quoted, said they would continue to maintain equal rapport with all political parties who have been fighting for the Telangana cause.