What is the purpose of KCR's 21-day Telangana birthday celebration?

K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and chief minister of Telangana, is regarded as a superb tactician when it comes to obscuring matters. He thinks there is a valid reason why the state is commemorating its founding on June 2 over a three-week period. KCR wants to highlight the contributions made by the BRS and its former regional incarnation, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, to the growth of the young state since Andhra Pradesh was reorganised in 2014.

KCR announced a busy programme with a unique theme for each of the 21 days after revealing an exclusive logo for the 10th formation day. The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project and Mission Bhagiratha, which offer piped water to families in both urban and rural areas, are two notable projects highlighted in the logo.

KCR will do his yearly custom of paying tribute to those who lost their lives in the Telangana statehood agitation on June 2 as a sombre prelude to the festivities. In an address from the state secretariat, he will bestow favours and kick off the festivities. Notwithstanding Telangana's financial difficulties, this has occurred. Since the Union finance ministry reduced the amount of borrowings by around Rs 20,000 crore, the state struggled to meet its financial obligations in the previous fiscal year, and it is again experiencing a similar problem.

Following that, a consistent day-by-day campaign on the claims and accomplishments of his government is to be launched. Telangana Farmers' Day is scheduled for June 3 in order to unite the agricultural sector, for which KCR launched the Rythu Bandhu invest assistance plan, while Safety Day is scheduled for June 4 in order to highlight the state police. The ringtone on police officers' phones is "Telangana Police—people-friendly police." Telangana Vidyuttu Vijayaotsavam, a celebration  the energy department's accomplishments, will take place on June 5.

On June 22, KCR will dedicate a new martyrs' memorial in Hyderabad, capping up the festivities. This enormous, egg-shaped, mirror-finished building, which lies in front of KCR's other pet project—the new state secretariat, which he dedicated on April 30—has a huge reddish-yellow flame perched on it. The memorial was built following the placement of a huge Buddha statue in Hussain Sagar Lake. This cost the state more than Rs 1,100 crore, together with the 125-foot-long statue of B.R. Ambedkar that KCR dedicated on April 14.

The three KCR initiatives have altered Hyderabad's skyline by producing a visual spectacle in and around the new Secretariat. There will be more added. Together with a monument of the fabled Telugu Talli, this features a Twin Tower project that would house all of the departments' offices in one location close to the state secretariat.

The new martyrs' memorial is advertised as the tallest seamless stainless steel building in the world. Around Rs 180 crore were spent by the exchequer. Its shiny, puffed-out appearance may remind you of the "Cloud Gate," the "Bean" in Chicago, or "The Bubble" in the Chinese city of Karamay. Yet, the creators claim that this is a lit traditional lamp created as a memorial to the statehood campaign martyrs.

KCR is preparing for the future by bringing up the idea of Telangana becoming a separate state. Notably, on June 12, the state police will host the Telangana Run in all 119 assembly districts. And on the Spiritual Day on June 21, the government has issued a fiat ordering temples, mosques, churches, gurdwaras, and other places of worship to be brightly lit and to hold prayers for the welfare of the state. In addition, indigenous people who are using podu (shift agriculture) lands from June 24 to June 30 will receive pattas (title rights) as part of the celebrations for State Creation Day. In order for the Gruha Lakshmi programme, which would give financial aid to women for housing, to be implemented, officials have also been instructed to create the guidelines.

In particular in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region that is adjacent to south Telangana, analysts claim that a nervous KCR is frantic to fight the negative effects of incumbency and the rippling effect of a resurgent Congress in the Karnataka assembly elections. They claim that this is also the reason why he announced that the state will spend Rs 105 crore on the 21-day statehood celebration, even though the actual amount would be far higher if the state administration's travel and other costs were taken into account. The Congress is optimistic about the election's results, and party elders are keen to run in the assembly election rather than hold off until the parliamentary elections in the following year.

In actuality, the State Creation Day events were revealed following the release of the Karnataka assembly election results. Would it improve the chances of KCR and the BRS winning the year-end assembly election? It will be a difficult battle, as his electoral ally and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi stated at the Indian Today Conclave South in Kovalam, close to Trivandrum, on June 1. Before now, Telangana has remained tranquil. Elections are difficult. That won't be a walk in the park if anyone thinks that. Each election is challenging. This one will be challenging as well. Undoubtedly a word of warning for KCR.