Harish Rao to begin Karnataka poll campaign from Bidar

HYDERABAD: As the deadline for filing nominations for the Karnataka Assembly elections approaches on April 20, state minister T. Harish Rao is once again the man of the moment, as the BRS plans to send party leaders to campaign in support of the JD(S).

Harish Rao, nephew of BRS president and Chief Minister K.Chandrashekar Rao and widely referred to as the CM's Man Friday, is expected to leave for Bidar district next week with a team of local leaders from undivided Medak district. The party leadership plans to use the services of Harish Rao, because a sizeable Telugu voters in Bidar district are from the undivided Medak district which he has a long association.

Harish Rao and his team plan to campaign in six Assembly constituencies in Bidar district. According to data gathered by the BRS, a big block of the Telugu voters in Bidar district, comprising about 20 per cent, belongs to Sangareddy.

BRS leaders obtained phone numbers of these voters their relatives in order to conduct Atmeeya Sammelanams. The BRS leadership plans to reach out to every Telugu voter through various programmes. The BRS has identified nearly 40 Assembly constituencies in 12 districts of Karnataka where Telugu voters play a significant role in determining the fate of candidates.

The Chief Minister is planning to depute one minister for each of these 12 districts who will be supported by MLAs, MLCs, MPs of respective districts. Plans are being made to campaign in Karnataka until May 8 before the polling on May 10.

The BRS leadership has decided to support JD(S) in Assembly polls, but plans to contest the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka in 2024 in alliance with JD(S).

Telangana impact

Data gathered by BRS leaders show that Telugu voters are present in significant numbers in 12 Karnataka districts, where they can influence the outcome

District                              Telugu vote         Influence

Kolar                                    76%                  6 seats

Bengaluru Rural                  65%                  4 seats

Bengaluru Urban                 49%                 28 seats

Raichuru                              64%                 7 seats

Ballari                                  63%                 9 seats

Chikkaballapura                  49%                 5 seats

Koppal                                 43%                 5 seats