HYDERABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to launch BJP’s election campaign with a public meeting at the Government ITI College Grounds in Bhootpur of Mahbubnagar district at 1 p.m. on October 1.
Modi’s public meeting is scheduled just weeks after Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao conducted a wet run of the first phase of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS). Party leaders said the PM is expected to lay foundation stones or inaugurate national highway projects, but they have not yet provided confirmation regarding the details.
Initially, the BJP State leadership had planned two separate public meetings, one in the Nizamabad district and the other in the Mahbubnagar district, on October 2. However, the PMO has confirmed his availability for the Bhootpur meeting.
Modi’s visit coincides with the upcoming visit of an Election Commission of India (ECI) delegation to Hyderabad from October 3 to 6. The announcement of the election schedule may come within a few days of the visit, said party insiders.
BJP expects ‘gifts’ from Modi
There is much speculation over what Modi might announce for the Palamuru region in his address. The BJP has been consistently urging him to grant national project status to PRLIS through various means, including flexies and pressers during his visits to Hyderabad.
In fact, BRS leaders claim that Modi had made a promise during his public meeting in Mahbubnagar before the 2014 elections that the BJP if elected, would complete PRLIS. This demand for national project status for PRLIS continues to be echoed by BRS leaders, especially after the recent wet run of PRLIS.
In this context, there is eager anticipation regarding the PM’s announcements. It’s worth noting that some State BJP leaders had previously invited Modi to contest from the Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha segment. Former Mahbubnagar MP AP Jithender Reddy publicly stated this a few months ago.
On a different note, the BJP has abandoned the idea of conducting three bus yatras originally scheduled to begin on September 23. Party sources cited time constraints for the change in plans.