NEW DELHI
Following a commendable performance in the Telangana legislative election compared to 2018, the BJP is now seeking prospects amidst the Congress’s faltering 100-day six guarantee schemes.
“We are waiting for an opportunity. Congress has to fulfill its promise by the first week of March. If they won’t be able to fulfill it, they’re going to lose their grip in the state, ‘’ said the BJP official spokesperson, Dr Prakash Reddy.
The saffron party has shown their confidence that the promises made by the ruling party won’t be able to be fulfilled, which will lead to loosening the grip on the people of Telangana.
The six guarantees promises covered cash transfers, pension schemes, free electricity, cylinders, and land for a wide base of voters, from women and farmers to students and martyrs’ families. These include the ‘Mahalakshmi’, ‘Rythu Bharosa’, ‘Gruha Jyothi’, ‘Indiramma Indlu’, ‘Yuva Vikasam’, and ‘Cheyutha’ guarantees.
Even, Mallikarjun Kharge said the Congress “is determined to provide social justice, economic empowerment, and unbridled progress to the people of Telangana”.
“Now, the Congress has asked the people of the state to preserve their guarantee cards for the next three months to avail themselves of the benefits of the six guarantees. So, we are waiting, as the countdown has already begun,” said the spokesperson.
The second strategy the saffron party is focusing on is not considering BRS as their competitor, as they have already lost the state elections. So, the party’s entire focus will be on Congress. “We don’t see BRS as our competitors, as we observe on the ground that the people of Telangana are very sure that for state elections they are going to vote for Congress, and for General elections, it’s only Modi,” said the spokesperson.
In the 2023 election, the BJP retained its Goshamahal seat and won seven others. The party also stood in the second position in at least 18 segments. In a few more seats, BJP candidates stood a strong third by polling a good number of votes.
However in 2014, the BJP had won five seats—Uppal in Rangareddy district and Musheerabad, Amberpet, Khairatabad, and Goshamahal in Hyderabad district—with a vote share of just 4.20%. Meanwhile in 2018, the party was decimated, with only T. Raja Singh retaining his Goshamahal seat while tall leaders like K Laxman and G Kishan Reddy bit the dust. Kishan Reddy was subsequently elected from the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat, while Sanjay, who lost the Karimnagar Assembly seat, was later elected as Karimnagar MP, as Arvind won from the Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat.