On eve of Amit Shah’s visit, BJP claims saffron surge in Telangana
HYDERABAD: BJP, which was the first national party to demand statehood for Telangana way back in 1997 with the slogan “one vote - two States” hopes to realise its long-cherished dream of “capturing” the Telugu land.
To give a direct push to the party’s local leaders’ efforts to project the BJP as a viable alternative to the Congress Party, which is still facing headwinds in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, after-bifurcation, party’s national president Amit Shah will undertake a six-day visit to the two sibling States, starting from Telangana on Monday, amid rumblings from the ruling parties (TRS and TDP) in both the States. As far as Telangana is concerned, Shah, known for his winning strategies, is descending on the new State to further weaken the Congress and also to take on the ruling TRS, amid talk of early polls.
Ahead of All India Congress Committee (AICC) vice president Rahul Gandhi’s public meeting to be held at Sangareddy on June 1, the BJP president, wants to spend much of his time in the erstwhile Nalgonda district, home to Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy and the Leader of the Opposition K Jana Reddy. Shah believes that his schedule will help make a dent in the Congress vote bank.
Wooing Dalits
“Minorities and Dalits, who were once considered as traditional voters of the Congress are no longer with it. During his tour, our national president will focus his attention on wooing dalits to our side.
“He will have community lunch in Dalit wadas in various villages in Nalgonda district to dispel the notion that BJP is against SCs, which was willfully created by the Congress,” BJP state spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao told Express. According to the BJP leaders, the party central leadership wants to adopt a two-pronged strategy to grow in the State. As per this, in the first stage, the BJP will target Congress vote bank and its second-rung leaders.
In the next stage, the BJP’s target is finishing the TRS, a regional party. “If we can first finish the Congress, a national party, later we can easily checkmate a regional party like TRS,” a BJP senior leader said.
Historic visit: Party
“Amit Shah’s tour will be a historic one. It will be a precursor to party’s victory march in the two Telugu-speaking States. Our party will emerge as the only alternative political force to the ruling TRS in Telangana by finishing the Congress totally, besides emerging as a force to be reckoned with in AP,” BJP state unit chief Laxman said.
According to Krishna Saagar Rao, the BJP, which unflinchingly backed statehood for Telangana and forced the then Congress-led UPA government to create the new State, will Monday onwards, go aggressively to win over the electors, explaining the benefits of electing a national party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in the State. Sources said BJP central leadership, while concentrating its focus on wooing Congress traditional voters to the saffron party side, will use “Samajika Telangana” slogan to take on the ruling party.
“The three year-old TRS regime in the State has not only undermined the democratic principles by stifling the opposition parties, but also denied social justice to the weaker sections.
Hence, Prajaswamika Samajika Telangana will be achieved only under the rule of a national party like BJP, which adopts a holistic approach,” Krishna Sagar Rao said.
Shah’s itinerary
Amit Shah will be visiting the state from May 22 to May 25 as a part of the Vistar Yojana
He will be arriving in Hyderabad on Monday morning and will go to Nalgonda
Shah will participate in different programmes in the erstwhile Nalgonda district from May 22 to May 24
On Monday, he will visit Theratpally village at 12.45 pm and pay tributes to Gundagoni Mysaiah Goud, who was killed by naxalites in 1999
Bandaru bullish
A day after Centre had delivered a favourable verdict to Telangana over bifurcation of institutions listed in Schedule IX in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, Union labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya on Sunday said, “The Telangana government should at least now acknowledge the impartiality shown by the Narendra Modi government towards dealing with pending issues between TS and AP. ” the union minister said.