Whose votes will RS Praveen Kumar eat?

The sudden and unexpected political foray of controversial IPS officer and ex-secretary of Gurukul schools RS Praveen Kumar appears to have upset the apple-carts of all the major political parties in Telangana. RS Praveen Kumar, who made a name for himself due to his efficient management of the Gurukul schools, has taken voluntary retirement from the civil services and has taken a political plunge.

He has also indicated that he would revive the Bahujan Samaj Party in Telangana, where the Dalit votes are in sizeable numbers. He has also announced that he would spell out his agenda and plan of action on August 8 by organizing a public meeting in Nalgonda. His sudden political entry has upset the calculations of all major political parties. Which way will the Dalit votes go now? What will be the impact of Praveen Kumar on Dalit voters? Which party will end up losing? Political parties are grappling with these questions and are busy making back-of-the-envelope calculations.

The Congress Party is afraid that its Dalit vote may shift to Praveen Kumar. The SC leaders in the Congress are a worried lot. They are afraid that they plans to woo the Dalit voters may now become useless. The BJP does not have a Dalit vote bank. But, it is worried that at least a significant section of the BCs might move over to Praveen Kumar’s BSP. On his part, Praveen Kumar is talking of Dalit-BC unity. The BJP, which is projecting itself as a pro-BJP party, might lose out because of this.

The ruling TRS too is worried that given the positive image about Praveen Kumar among the SCs, there could be some effect on them. They feel that while Praveen Kumar could primarily affect the Congress, there could be some fallout in the TRS too. All these parties are eagerly waiting for the August 8 meeting of Praveen Kumar in Nalgonda to make their own assessments.