BJP Plans to Stay Away From Poll Promise Rat Race'

HYDERABAD: Irrespective of promises being made by the Congress and the BRS in Telangana as part of their efforts to woo voters in the run-up to the Assembly elections in the state later this year, the BJP has decided to adopt a different approach, following its policy of not matching or trying-to-do-one-better than others, it was learnt.

“The BJP does not believe in the rat race of making promises, if one says we will give you Rs 10 lakh, then another says we will give you Rs 12 lakh. The BJP will not say it will match or up the ante. Our policy is not to get into this race but come out with a comprehensive plan which will be reflected in our manifesto,” a senior party source said.

Even as the party made it clear that Congress or the BRS can keep making promises of all kinds, some top party leaders are concerned over the lack of effective communication and coordination between state-level leaders and leaders deployed by the BJP high command to oversee preparations for the elections. 

It was learnt that the decision to term last Sunday’s public meeting in Khammam, where Union home minister Amit Shah addressed the public, ‘Rythu Gosa-BJP Bharosa’ was a sticking point that showed a lack of coordination, as there was no concrete ‘bharosa’ or assurance given to farmers.

Sources in the BJP said that several party leaders agreed that after running with the theme of farmers and assurances to them — especially after a state party leader released a statement on Saturday declaring that some announcements for farmers would be made at the meeting — a lack of the same does not sound good. 

“Sometimes, our leaders from here jump the gun and start saying things before it is time to do so. The Khammam meeting theme was one such instance,” another top party leader said, indicating that the party still needs to work on getting its national and state-level leaders on the same page.