BRS will vanish, it will be Congress vs BJP: Ramachander Rao
HYDERABAD: BJP state president N Ramchander Rao has expressed confidence that the saffron party will win a majority of municipalities in the coming elections.
Urging the cadre to visit each household at least six times to win their support for BJP candidates, he said that the party MPs, including Union ministers, will fight to secure more Central funds for the development of municipalities across the state.
Addressing party’s Vijay Sankalp Sammelan programme held at a private function hall in Secunderabad on Saturday, Ramchander Rao demanded that the state government release a white paper on funds allocated and development activities taken up in municipalities in the state during the last two years.
Predicting issuance of municipal election notification by January 28 and completion of the election process by February 15, he said that the people in the state are inclined to vote for the BJP hoping that only double engine sarkar under the leadership of Prime Minister Narnedra Modi would ensure the development of Telangana.
Seeing the writing on the wall for the BRS in Telangana, Ramchander Rao said that, in the absence of a strong leader in the pink party, all its elected representatives would switch sides to the Congress sooner or later. “This will leave the field open for a straight contest between the Congress and the BJP,” he said.
He accused the Congress of colluding with AIMIM to wrest Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Bhinsa and Nirmal municipalities, where he said the BJP has strong presence. “The ruling Congress is helping the MIM consolidate its position through delimitation of wards. The BRS also will help the MIM win in these municipalities,” Ramachander Rao alleged.
Making it clear that the BJP would fight the upcoming civic elections on three issues — development, people-centric issues, and Hindutva, he urged party leaders to compare the development carried out before 2014 and after 2014, particularly in municipalities where the Centre provided greater funding, leading to development solely through Central cooperation.
He recalled the party’s recent victories in local body elections and its growing presence in rural areas, where party-backed candidates won around 1,000 sarpanch posts, 1,200 to 1,500 upa-sarpanch posts, and nearly 10,000 ward member positions. He noted that the party earlier had only about 150 sarpanchs, a number that has now risen to 1,000, clearly reflecting the party’s rapidly expanding support base in rural regions of Telangana.
He alleged that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is preoccupied with visits to Delhi and public meetings, neglecting governance. He claimed that the government has failed to focus on welfare schemes for farmers and the general public. Ramchander Rao accused the Revanth regime of being a “40 per cent commission government” and alleged that ministers are publicly engaged in infighting while industrialists are being intimidated.
He said that in Kerala, the BJP won municipalities and corporations, including in Thiruvananthapuram, and also performed well in Mumbai’s local elections due to the sustained efforts of party workers and public support.