BJP's 'Shivaji' bid to oust KCR in Telangana -

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By Manish Anand

New Delhi, July 2: The Bharatiya Janata Party is riding the campaign for the installation of Shivaji statues in Telangana districts adjoining Maharashtra, while the saffron outfit makes a determined bid to challenge the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi in the next year’s Assembly elections in the state.

The TRS leaders, sources said, the BJP has made significant inroads in the areas of Adilabad, Kamareddy, Nizamabad and other areas in the northern Telangana, while the campaign for installation of the statues of Shivaji is the foremost outreach of the saffron outfit in such places.

The BJP on Saturday began its two-day national executive in Hyderabad with clear objective to go full throttle against the K Chandrashekhar Rao government in the state, building the campaign plot on the grounds that the “dynastic TRS has failed to fulfil promises made to the people, while creating roadblock to the implementation of the pro-poor schemes of the Narendra Modi-led Central government”.

Modi will stay put during the full course of the national executive meeting, which on its first day saw the party leaders hailing the achievements of the Central government in the last eight years, while also coming down heavily against the political dynasties, a clear aim against the TRS, “for being hurdle in the development of the country”.

The Lambadi tribal community in the state, noted the political observers, in the state has fully gone behind the BJP, which sources in the TRS said is causing much discomfort to the ruling dispensation in the state.

The BJP’s Lok Sabha MP Arvind Dharmapuri from the Nizamabad parliamentary constituency is seen to be leading the campaign for the installation of the Shivaji statues in the districts in the state adjoining Maharashtra.

“The level of discomfort in the ranks of the TRS is such that their local leaders in these districts are also joining the ceremonies to unveil the statues of Shivaji,” sources in the TRS said.

The BJP currently has three MLAs in the state Assembly which has a total strength of 119. While the saffron outfit doesn’t have a face who can have an appeal across the state, the BJP is banking on the charisma of Modi to make significant gains in the next year’s Assembly elections in Telangana.

For the BJP, Shivaji is a symbol of Hindutva against the “KCR’s pro-minority” tilt in the state.

Modi will also address a rally on the conclusion of the national executive in Hyderabad.

Significantly, the BJP will be banking on the strength of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) in Telangana to prepare a robust election machinery, while Modi will act as a force-multiplier to blunt KCR’s appeal in the state.

Telangana, incidentally, is key to the BJP’s Mission South plan, as the party’s bid to enter Tamil Nadu and Kerala has so far been a non-starter.