Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public meeting in Hyderabad on Tuesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Backward Classes (BC) push is strengthening. Modi will participate in the ‘BC Aatma Gourava Sabha’, which aims to bring BC voters and leaders closer to the party. The meeting intends to convey that the party seeks equal justice for BCs by empowering them with party tickets and, in case the BJP comes to power, the CM’s chair.
In line with their stance, the party aims to allocate 40 per cent of tickets in the upcoming Telangana assembly elections to BCs, who constitute almost 60 per cent of the state's total population.
The party has already fielded a seasoned BC leader, Eatala Rajender, against Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao in the Gajwel assembly constituency. The CM has won from Gajwel twice and considers it his traditional seat. Eatala, who has been with the BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) since its inception and has served as Health and Finance Minister in its government, has parted ways with the party and joined the BJP. He is now the Election Management Committee Chairman of the state BJP. Although his regular constituency is Huzurabad, he is also contesting in Gajwel to challenge the supremacy of KCR.
The BJP aims to replicate the stunning upset defeat of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 assembly elections. BJP’s co-incharge of Telangana, Arvind Menon, was previously deputed by the party for the West Bengal elections, which witnessed a surprising victory of BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari over Banerjee.
“I have sensed the pulse on the ground. The situation in Gajwel is similar to what Mamata Banerjee faced in West Bengal. Just like how she lost the election in Nandigram then, KCR will lose the election this time in Gajwel,” said Menon. The BJP is putting all efforts to deliver an upset defeat to the BRS. It is scheduling public meetings and rallies in the constituency, which may be attended by star campaigners, including Home Minister Amit Shah. The candidates' progress, strategy, and support are already being provided by multiple teams, totaling 100 members, who are based in the party headquarters in Nampally.
“The people are resonating with our stand on BRS’ corruption and dynasty politics. While the Congress has damaged the state with communal politics and corruption, the BRS too has followed in their footsteps. The Congress and the BRS are two sides of the same coin,” he said.
In addition to BCs, the party also has its sights set on the SC and ST communities. To reach out to the Dalits, Modi will attend a meeting in Hyderabad on November 11.