Hyderabad: Trying to capitalise on the “vacuum” on the political canvas of Telangana with the “gradual erosion” of BRS presence, and its own increase in the vote share vis-à-vis the Assembly elections (it polled only 6.98 per cent of total votes in 2018 but doubled it to 13.90 per cent in 2023), the BJP is betting big on Telangana to achieve its avowed goal of ‘Abki baar chaar sau paar’.
The BRS, which ruled the state for a decade, is in doldrums. Not only are its leaders moving over to the Congress or the BJP, but even its sitting MPs and kin of BRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao were averse to entering the Lok Sabha poll fray.
Their morale has been further shaken by the arrest of K. Kavitha and the phone-tapping shocker.
The time is ripe for the lotus to bloom in Telangana, feel BJP leaders. It has had a good strike rate in North Telangana and in Hyderabad and now hopes to do better in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Besides bagging eight seats in 2023 as against one in 2018, the party stood second in 18 Assembly segments, which is raising their optimism levels. This has been bolstered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public meetings in Telangana earlier this month and a road show in Hyderabad.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, BJP state vice-president N.V.S.S. Prabhakar said that they were hopeful of making huge inroads this time, particularly with Modi’s ‘Viksit Bharat’ clarion call.
