From simply seven states in 2014 to 17 states in 2022, the BJP footprint has grown past conventional strongholds to beat new forts just like the Northeast. But the Wall of Vindhyas has been a troublesome one to crack thus far. In this particular collection on BJP’s Peninsular Pitch, News18 takes a take a look at the saffron celebration’s renewed push for electoral success in southern India.
In Part 4 of the collection, we monitor the BJP’s deepening inroads in Telangana, the place it’s but to offer too many nightmares to Chief Minister Ok Chandrashekar Rao however has definitely pressured him to take a seat up and take discover.
When the Bharatiya Janata Party received 4 parliamentary constituencies of Telangana in 2019, it was thought of a mandate for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Not many noticed it as indicators of the celebration’s rising affect in the state.
However, successful Dubbaka and later the Huzurabad Assembly bypolls shook up the political equations in the state, and likewise how the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) perceived the BJP.
With the saffron celebration changing into extra aggressive by the day, sharpening its assaults on Telangana Chief Minister Ok Chandrashekar Rao (KCR)’s insurance policies, analysts see it rising as the choice and principal opposition to the ruling TRS, pushing the Congress to 3rd place.
“Dubbaka was a jolt to the TRS as it was a constituency sandwiched between seats represented by family members of KCR and so were the GHMC municipal polls where the BJP came a close second. They have routed money to extend financial benefits of their schemes in the constituency. Yet, the BJP won. In Huzurabad, considered a stronghold of the TRS, Eatala Rajender won as a BJP candidate,” stated Tarun Chugh, BJP incharge, Telangana.
The OBC Pitch
Telangana is a largely backward caste state, together with OBCs. Leaders in the celebration say that the state has virtually 50 per cent of the voters belonging to the opposite backward lessons group. However, the highest politicians in the ruling class are higher caste regardless of not having a vote base, acknowledged a BJP chief.
With each Bandi and Dharmapuri continuously below assault from the TRS, sentiments of the TRS being anti-OBC are gaining floor
The BJP has nurtured an OBC management. Bandi Sanjay Kumar was made the Telangana unit president in 2020. He has grow to be the face of the celebration in opposition to the TRS authorities. Another key chief from the state is Arvind Dharmapuri, who belongs to the Munnuru Kapu group, an OBC caste. T Raja Singh, the ground chief of the BJP in the Telangana meeting, can be a outstanding face, together with Shruthi Bangaru, and G Vivek Venkatswamy.
“BJP leaders are predominantly OBCs. With both Bandi and Dharmapuri constantly under attack from the TRS, sentiments of the TRS being anti-OBC are gaining ground. With Bandi having been sent to judicial custody for protesting against government policies and Dharmapuri prevented from entering his constituency, TRS is exposing itself,” says a senior BJP chief.
The caste battle
Chief Minister KCR belongs to the higher caste Velama group that has a inhabitants of 1% to 2% in the state, say BJP leaders.
“Yet, they control the power structure as the regional party TRS is run by a family. The second powerful community is the Reddy community, and so far it has been associated with the Congress. Before 2014, whenever the Congress was in power, the Reddys were the most powerful. These two communities are the ‘Thakurs’ of Telangana,” defined Dharmapuri, MP from Nizamabad.
“As the Congress has the Reddys, the Velama community moved to the TRS, which is more powerful in the state. Velamas are Kammas in Andhra. So, the present TRS is a combination of the TDP and Congress. Whoever supported the creation of Telangana joined the TRS after 2014.”
The meeting polls in 2014 threw up a blended mandate. The TRS took in Congress MLAs. The Telugu Desam Party was routed in Telangana. And even the BJP has stopped contemplating the Congress a worthy opponent.
Even Muslims can transfer out in the event that they get a greater cope with the BJP. Progressive Muslims ought to look in direction of the BJP
Revanth Reddy, Telangana’s Congress president and the face of the celebration right here, is making an attempt to revive its authentic vote base that existed in each village.
“However, the TRS in the past eight years built its base at every village panchayat level and thus it will be hard for the Congress to reclaim its vote bank,” added Chugh.
As far because the Muslims are involved, many in the BJP imagine that almost all of the group votes for anybody that may defeat the saffron celebration. However, BJP MP Dharmapuri is optimistic. “Even Muslims can move out if they get a better deal with the BJP,” he said. “Progressive Muslims should look towards the BJP.”
Praja Sangrama Yatra to Mobilise Cadre
BJP’s Telangana president Bandi Sanjay Kumar is undertaking the second leg of his padyatra against the TRS administration in the state. He had been arrested whereas protesting earlier this yr, prompting celebration chief JP Nadda to steer a protest in opposition to the choice.
Many leaders in the party believe this mobilisation of the cadre that was lying dormant for years will bring benefits both in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections.
Such is the confidence that senior leaders believe if there is any southern state other than Karnataka that the Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to win soon, it is Telangana.
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The BJP has demanded the withdrawal of the government order on employees’ transfer policy, terming it lopsided. Government employees live in a sizeable number in the state and they are crucial voters as well.
Also, the BJP’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has been active in the state for years and has actively worked at the grassroots level. Chandupatla Janga Reddy, one of the first two MPs of the party who entered the Lok Sabha, winning the elections in 1984, and who recently passed away, had been associated with the RSS since the 1950s.
The arithmetic
Senior party leaders believe that the BJP is looking to secure at least 45 assembly seats out of the 119 in elections to be held in 2023.
“We have already impacted 28 to 30 assembly constituencies if you consider those in the four parliamentary seats won by the BJP. Count in Dubbaka and Huzurabad. Add the KCR family feud to it along, with the CM embracing Muslims, and the yatra undertaken by our party chief in the state. The party is targeting at least 45 seats as of today,” stated a senior BJP leader.
Farmers
The chief minister brought the paddy procurement issue to the national capital, while his son who is a minister in the government and the party’s working president, KT Rama Rao, sat on a dharna.
He (KCR) incited farmers to throw away good quality paddy
The BJP launched a counterattack on the CM for “misleading” the farmers, leading to the TRS government announcing procurement by the state.
“He incited farmers to throw away good quality paddy. He told them that he is the only CM in the country who is doing the procurement. He never took FCI or Modi government’s name. What is the state of procurement? During the Dubbaka elections, in 2020, he asked the farmers about the quality of paddy which attracts more disease, low yield, and labour cost is high. The CM promised more money in return for the crop and did not keep his promise. Many had sold the crop privately. Farmers are in dilemma,” stated Dharmapuri.
Tracking unkept guarantees of TRS
The BJP believes that each one the guarantees on which Telangana got here into existence – employment, water, cash, and sources– are nonetheless unfulfilled. While Hyderabad takes care of the income, different guarantees are but to be realised.
Counting amongst its positives the Ayushmaan Bharat scheme, PM Awas Yojana, Covid vaccination, and many others, together with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s management, the saffron celebration hopes to make deep inroads in this southern state.
The celebration is telling individuals what they didn’t get due to TRS insurance policies– advantages of central programmes.
ALSO READ | BJP’s Peninsular Pitch: Party Feels Its Focus on OBCs, KCR’s Unkept Promises Adding Up in Telangana
Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri claimed that KCR’s formidable Dalit Bandhu Scheme has additionally been a non-starter.
“Ayushman Bharat, Fasal Bima Yojana, and other schemes, where the state is in partnership, it has not paid the premium and thus these are not implemented there. Take education: be it school education or universities, all have been ignored. KCR has redefined Gurukul for his political aim. Health facilities are in shambles. There are more than 70 per cent vacancies in hospital staff,” added Dharmapuri.
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