KCR convenes emergency party meet tomorrow, triggers early polls buzz

HYDERABAD: TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao will chair a joint meeting of party MPs, MLAs and MLCs and state executive committee members at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday.

Rao's sudden decision taken on Sunday evening has triggered speculation in TRS ranks as well as in political circles over the purpose of the emergency meeting.

The meeting assumes significance as it comes against the backdrop of a series of developments — the likelihood of the party getting the Election Commission's approval for renaming itself as Bharat Rashtra Samiti by December 7, the poachgate attempt to lure party MLAs, the Munugode bypoll win and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit where he lashed out at TRS government's ‘corruption and family rule’.

Party sources said the main objective of the meeting was to gear up the leaders for the Assembly elections scheduled for December 2023 and also discuss the possibility of going for early polls by dissolving the Assembly soon after Gujarat elections in December. Doing so would ensure that the TS Legislative Assembly polls are held along with the Karnataka elections in May.

In his first term from 2014, Rao had dissolved the Assembly nine months in advance in September 2018 against the original tenure of May 2019. Rao's gamble worked and TRS retained power.

Fresh from the Munugode win, sources said, he wants to take feedback from party leaders on the pros and cons of going in for early polls.

This apart, the Chief Minister is likely to discuss BRS expansion to other states from December and his plans to hold a huge rally in Delhi or Uttar Pradesh to formally announce the launch of the BRS in December second week, sources said.

Rao is also expected to guide party leaders on facing Assembly elections any time and check the rise of BJP in Telangana.