Hyderabad: Chief Minister and BRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao on Wednesday deputed ministers T. Harish Rao and Mohd Mahmood Ali to Solapur of Maharashtra to scout for a 50-acre plot to hold a rally, indicating Rao’s special focus on Maharashtra politics even as the Telangana Assembly polls are fast approaching.
Sources said the BRS is planning a huge public meeting in Solapur in September, with the slogan ‘Ab Ki Baar, Kisan Sarkar (This time, it’s farmers’ rule)’, in which lakhs of farmers are expected to participate.
Accompanied by former Lok Sabha member B. Vinod Kumar, the BRS delegation identified Bolkote Ground and Idgah Ground in Solapur for the meeting. They said a report will be submitted to the Chief Minister, who will finalise the venue in a week.
During their trip, Harish Rao visited the famous Sri Markandeya Mandir at Solapur, took part in the annual rath yatra and announced Chandrashekar Rao’s decision to donate Rs 1 crore, on behalf of the BRS, for the development of the temple.
Addressing media personnel, Harish Rao said that BRS has been getting overwhelming responses from the people of Maharashtra and expressed confidence that the party will come to power in Maharashtra in the 2024 Assembly elections. He said that the BRS will implement the ‘Telangana model’ of welfare schemes and development programmes if voted to power in Maharashtra.
Referring to criticism of NCP, Shiv Sena and Congress leaders of Maharashtra that BRS was BJP’s B-team and entered Maharashtra politics to benefit the BJP, Harish Rao said: “BRS is neither A-team nor B-team of any party; but BRS is the political party of farmers. NCP and Shiv Sena, which accused BRS of being B-team to BJP, have already snuck into the BJP's fold and such parties have no moral right to criticise the BRS.”
Expressing concern over rising farmer suicides, he said that if the ruling parties in Maharashtra fail to address this issue, the BRS will certainly come to power and rescue the farmers.
While renaming the TRS as BRS in October 2023 to expand his party to other states and play a key role in national politics in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Rao has, so far, laid a special focus only on Maharashtra. He has yet to launch BRS activities in other states on a full scale.
Rao has already visited Maharashtra four times since February, on February 5, March 14, May 19 and June 26, addressing four public meetings, in Nanded, Kandhar-Loha, Nanded, again, and Sarkoli, respectively.
Among the activities undertaken in the neighbouring state by Rao include the launch of a BRS membership drive, training classes for party leaders and workers for undertaking membership drive, announcement of a one-month action plan to expand BRS and spreading BRS ideology in Maharashtra from the village level by forming nine committees in every village for farmers, SCs, STs, OBCs, women, youth and students, among other groups.
The Chief Minister asked party functionaries to cover five villages every day, meet the people, explain the Telangana model, seek their support for BRS and undertake membership drives. He also distributed tablets to party functionaries for undertaking online membership drives in Maharashtra and distributed the party's publicity material.
