Telangana Lok Sabha polls: BJP aims to capitalise on Modi-factor, BRS defections to counter Congress guarantees
BJP in Telangana is aggressively pushing to improve on its previous tally of four out of 17 seats in the May 13 Lok Sabha polls in the face of the ruling Congress party’s guarantees that are less than one year old. A larger tally would help the saffron party establish a firm foothold in another southern state, aside from Karnataka and aim for a win in the assembly in coming years.
Sections of political analysts believe pro-BJP sentiment is one the rise in state, especially in urban areas, amidst heavy campaigning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, party president J.P. Nadda, Union minister Smriti Irani, and other national leaders. A slew of defections from the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) may also help the saffron party’s chances, they said.
However, the BJP giving five of the 17 available NDA tickets to recent imports in the place of older core members may leave the party with internal fissures. In the assembly polls last year, the party had fielded 118 candidates, 54 of which were defectors. Only one of them managed to win. “We have been working for the party and have managed to build a base ever since the state was formed. But the leadership has chosen to field people from other parties over our own leaders, which is disappointing,” a party member said.
The party had managed to win eight out of 119 seats in the assembly polls, suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of the Congress.
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