BJP targets municipal polls, aims to outpace BRS
HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is treating the upcoming municipal elections in Telangana as a prestige battle and is drawing up plans to win more seats than the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), the principal opposition. The party hopes this will help it emerge as the alternative to the Congress.
Focus on urban local bodies across regions
The BJP is targeting maximum victories in Karimnagar and Nizamabad municipal corporations, besides municipalities across the undivided Adilabad, Nizamabad, Palamuru, Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy districts. It plans to campaign under the slogan “Save Telangana… Vote Telangana (BJP).”
National committee to steer campaign
To oversee the municipal elections, BJP national president Nitin Nabin has constituted a three-member committee. Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar has been appointed in-charge, with Ashok Parnami and Rekha Sharma as co-in-charges. The committee has been holding meetings with party cadres over the past few days.
Cadre mobilisation and candidate selection
The committee participated in a meeting chaired by BJP state president Ramchander Rao on Wednesday and issued directions on the party’s election strategy. Leaders asked cadres to implement the action plan at the grassroots and work in coordination during the campaign. They were also instructed to highlight that urban and city development is possible only with funds from the Central government.
Rao directed MPs, MLAs, MLCs and senior leaders to stay in their respective regions until the elections conclude. To avoid errors in ticket allocation, the party is conducting confidential surveys at the national and state levels. Results of gram panchayat elections and Lok Sabha vote shares are being considered to field candidates with higher winning prospects.
Believing it has better chances in Karimnagar, Adilabad, Nizamabad, Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda districts, the BJP leadership has decided to appoint one state-level leader as in-charge for each municipality. With central leaders’ oversight, local strategies and detailed survey reports, party leaders are confident of hoisting the saffron flag in a majority of municipalities this time.
