HYDERABAD: The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) transformed into Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on Friday with the slogan “Ab ki baar, kisan sarkar” (This time, a farmer’s government in New Delhi). The expansion plans of BRS will start from Karnataka, which is slated for Assembly elections in a few months. BRS will work with its ally JD(S).
TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao signed the related papers on Friday at 1.20 pm and hoisted the party’s altered flag at Telangana Bhavan. A large number of party activists celebrated by bursting crackers outside the building.
Later, Chandrasekhar Rao said that BRS would present new economic, water, power, agriculture, environment, women empowerment, and weaker section policies for the country. The TRS’ pink flag and car symbol are being retained for the BRS. However, the Telangana map was replaced with the India map in the flag. “The BRS flag will be hoisted on the Red Fort,” Rao declared.
An application for a change of TRS to BRS, submitted on October 5, was accepted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday. As Chandrasekhar Rao is all set to step into national politics to take on the BJP, he dropped the word ‘Telangana’ in the party name and replaced the same with ‘Bharat”. With the official launch of BRS, Rao may tour the country in the coming months, starting with Delhi on December 14. On April 27, 2022, during the TRS’ plenary, Rao dropped enough hints that he would launch a national party.
The immediate task before the BRS is to fight in the Karnataka Assembly elections. BRS may forge an electoral alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular). It will help the JD (S) in Assembly segments where Telugu-speaking people are numerically strong. The presence of Telugu people is high in Bellary and also in districts like Kalaburagi, Raichur, and other areas in the erstwhile Hyderabad State.
“Jukkal MLA Hanmanth Shinde and Zaheerabad MP BB Patil can speak Kannada. We will explain Telangana’s scheme in Karnataka,” Rao said. The aim of Rao in the Karnataka Assembly elections is to defeat the BJP and see that the JD(S) forms the next government.
“I wish that a progressive leader like HD Kumaraswamy should become the next CM of Karnataka,” Rao said. The BRS may also focus its energies on neighbouring Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Former Karnataka chief minister Kumaraswamy and actor Prakash Raj attended the inaugural function of BRS and congratulated Rao. Apart from TRS leaders, farmer leaders Gurnam Singh (Haryana), Akshay Kumar, and Himanshu (Odisha), and leaders from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi too attended the function.
Addressing the meeting later, Rao said that the BRS would present alternative policies and try to bring a qualitative change in the country. “We are discussing the same with retired judges of the Supreme Court, retired IAS officers, economists, and farmers’ leaders. We will present our draft policies for debate in the next few weeks,” Rao said.
He lamented that the successive governments at the Centre failed to utilize natural and human resources in a proper manner. There were attempts to brand the youth as “fanatics”, Rao alleged, and said there was a need to stop these conspiracies. Even though India has 40 crore acres of arable land and 70,000 tmcft of water, the country’s performance in the hunger index was very poor. Rao said that politics did not mean winning or defeat of the party.
“It’s the people who should win in democracy,” he observed. “The BRS is like a lamp lit in the darkness. We will spread the brightness of the BRS lamp across the country. The Telangana model of development will be explained to the people of the country. We will implement Dalit Bandhu, Rythu Bandhu, and 24X7 free power supply for farmers,” Rao said.
Delhi office inauguration on December 14
Rao said the BRS office would be inaugurated in Delhi on December 14. The temporary office would be set up at Sardar Patel Marg. The construction of a permanent building of BRS would be completed in the next three to four months on the 1,100 sq metre of land allocated by the Central government at Vasant Vihar in Delhi in September 2021.
AUSPICIOUS MUHURAT
The muhurat for the launch of the BRS was fixed by the pandits at 1.20 pm on Friday during Meena (Pisces) lagna. “It is a very powerful and auspicious muhurat,” Rao maintained. A statue of Trailokya Mohana Gouri was installed at the party office and special pujas were performed before launching the BRS. Rao concluded his speech by raising the slogan, “Jai Bharat”.