KCR keeps BJP guessing on Telangana Assembly poll
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, March 11: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are keeping their fingers crossed over the next move of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao over the timing of the Assembly elections. KCR is being expected to prepone the Assembly elections in a bid to take the BJP by surprise.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is facing the heat on Telangana turf with the BJP stepping up efforts to build campaign plot in the state. K. Kavitha, an MLA in the state legislative council, was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday in the alleged Delhi liquor scam, and the political circle in the state is linking the heat of the investigative agencies to the likely move of KCR over the timing of the Assembly elections.
The first Telangana Assembly election was held along with the Lok Sabha elections. But KCR, who has made a reputation for his politically astute decision, is expected to prepone the elections to deny the saffron outfit more time to prepare for the Assembly elections.
High level visits to Telangana from the Central BJP are becoming the norms, with the party’s national general secretary Tarun Chugh strategizing on the poll preparations. Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah will be regularly coming to the state to chalk out the strategies with Telangana party leaders. The saffron outfit, said the party leaders, will be comfortable with Assembly elections in the state in the latter part of the year even while the saffron outfit will have to focus on its three principal catchment areas of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
“The BJP is ready with the chargesheet against the KCR government. The party will need time to communicate its poll plank with the people. The BJP now has structure in each district of the state and there is a steady flow of leaders from other parties in the state. Yet, the micro-management will need more time, and an early election in the state may not be to the benefit of the BJP,” said a senior BJP functionary.
While the BJP is used to facing multiple state elections at the same time, the party’s push in the southern states has seen many hiccups despite the ‘Brand Modi’ being the sole flagbearer of the saffron outfit. The BJP is bracing to fully concentrate on Karnataka Assembly elections and party will avoid being distracted with a Telangana poll as the saffron outfit is assessing serious challenges from Congress in the Kannada land, added the BJP functionary.
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